I've been very blessed to have a beautiful japanese maple (acer palmatum) in my backyard. It's approximately 25 feet (7.6m) high with about the same dripline. Diameter at 24" above ground is 9 inches (23 cm) and circumference is 25-3/4" (65.5 cm). Not only is it large, it's form is one of the most beautiful I've seen. The tree serves as a shade tree for a fair portion of the rear yard. Any ideas as to age? The house is mid-late 1930's, and I'm located in an area with prime farmland in California's central valley. My own guess is 30-40 years.
Trees too old to merely count the intervals between branches are aged by taking a core out of the trunk and counting the growth rings. There's really no other way to do more than guess how old a tree like yours might be. Small specimens can be old and large ones young, it depends on how vigorous the particular individual is (with seed-raised trees) and what it has experienced (site conditions).
