This is a small Acer heldreichii ssp. Trautvetteri that I won in the silen auction at the Maple Society meeting in 2006 hosted at the Morris Arboretum in PA. It has been slow growing for me in the garden and I do not have much information on the plant. Ed
Usually treated as a distinct species Acer trautvetteri Medwed.; native to the Caucasus and Elburz mountains. It differs from A. heldreichii (Balkans: SE Europe) in less deeply lobed leaves, the lobes cutting about 2/3 of the way to the base (almost to the base in A. heldreichii), and in the leaf undersides having orangey hairs on the veins and vein axils. The buds also open conspicuously red in spring, and the seedwings are also red (yellowish green in A. heldreichii). Grows to 15-20m tall.
Might add that it is a pretty fast grower here, mine is over 4m after a couple of years in ground putting on about 1/2 m each spring. Fall color is yellow but not remarkable, no sign of flowers (or fruit) yet. I haven't seen much in the way of red buds although this is meant to be a characteristic; they seem more brown to me. Maybe this will change as the plant becomes better established (or maybe colder winters would bring out the color). -E
I was going through some postings and came across these two of Acer heldreichii photos from The Garden at Nymans in 2008. The label said it's from Greece.
Trautvetter's Maple is still considered a subspecies of A. heldeichii in the latest species work by the Maple Society. WRT my own tree, it was revealed that it is a hybrid with pseudoplatanus by Piet de Jong, who said most of the trees labeled A. heldreichii ssp trautvetteri in cultivation that he has seen are such. I believe it may be possible to get the real thing in Eastern Europe.
@wcutler, after our conversation and my photos earlier Wendy about Nymans, your photos are making my next trip a lot earlier, but probably next Spring now.
