Morris Arboretum, May 14, 2024. It was in a decent shape, I regret not being able to picture the samaras in focus, and there were plenty of them. It was about 20 ft tall and approximately 10 cm diameter trunk close to the ground. @emery , I couldn’t find the second one… This one was planted in very deep shade. @emery , sorry I didn’t find your last request. It was outside the main arboretum’s perimeter and I didn’t have enough time.
@Nik , again thank you. It's very interesting to see what this disputed maple has been collected as. I find this a "troubling" maple, in that the identifying features include readily identifiable basal lobes and a wider spreading of the lobes: "These authors [Van Gelderen et al] acknowledge that many others consider it to be closer to A. tschonoskii and A. micranthum, an opinion shared by Chang & Kim (2003), who include it in their appraisal of the A. tschonoskii complex. It somewhat resembles this group, though has lobes more spreading than these species, which are further distinguished by their distinctive flowers." (Crowley, D. (2020), 'Acer maximowiczii' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/acer/acer-maximowiczii/). Accessed 2024-05-14.) Hardÿ tells us that young individuals are "more striated and lighter than any other member of the pectinatum group." Though the pictures in the "Illustrated Guide", (bark aside), resemble this maple. This past WE we observed SICH 1765, from the 1996 expedition, the leaves and bark of which were virtually identical to this specimen. It was too late to observe the flowers, but my initial reaction (perhaps wrong) was that it was mislabeled. Although I have a juvenile (and so difficult to draw any conclusions from) individual in the collection here, it is difficult to imagine it being the same as these specimens. Mine shows much more affinity with the photos of the species found in Eastern European (Polish, Czech) collections. Well, we shall see as and if it matures. Cheers, -E
