Tatar maple

Description

Acer tataricum, the Tatar maple or Tatarian maple, is a species of maple widespread across central and southeastern Europe and temperate Asia, from Austria and Turkey east as far as Japan and the Russian Far East. The species is named after the Tatar peoples of southern Russia; the tree's name is similarly commonly also misspelled "Tartar" or "Tartarian" in English. Acer tataricum is a deciduous spreading shrub or small tree growing to 4–12 metres (13–39 ft) tall, with a short trunk up to 20–50 centimetres (7.9–19.7 in) diameter and slender branches. The bark is thin, pale brown, and smooth at first but becoming shallowly fissured on old plants. The leaves are opposite and simple, broadly ovate, 4.5–10 centimetres (1.8–3.9 in) long and 3–7 centimetres (1.2–2.8 in) broad, unlobed or with three or five shallow lobes, and matte green above; the leaf margin is coarsely and irregularly toothed; the leaf petiole is slender, often pink-tinged, 2–5 centimetres (0.79–1.97 in) long. The flowers are whitish-green, 5–8 millimetres (0.20–0.31 in) diameter, produced in spreading panicles in spring as the leaves open. The fruit is a paired reddish samara, 10–12 millimetres (0.39–0.47 in) long with a 2–3 centimetres (0.79–1.18 in) wing, maturing in late summer to early autumn. Acer tataricum is related to Acer ginnala (Amur maple) from northeastern Asia; this is treated as a subspecies of Tatar maple (Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala) by some botanists but not by others. They differ conspicuously in the glossy, deeply lobed leaves of A. ginnala, compared to the matte, unlobed or only shallowly lobed leaves of A. tataricum. Acer is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae. There are approximately 132 species, most of which are native to Asia, with a number also appearing in Europe, northern Africa, and North America. Only one species, Acer laurinum, extends to the Southern Hemisphere. The type species of the genus is the sycamore maple, Acer pseudoplatanus, the most common maple species in Europe. The maples usually have easily recognizable palmate leaves (Acer negundo is an exception) and distinctive winged fruits. The closest relatives of the maples are the horse chestnuts. Maple syrup is made from the sap of some maple species.