Herb: Hawthorn-Leaved Maple


Latin name: Acer crataegifolium


Family: Aceraceae (Maple Family)



Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Tree

Height:
10 m
(33 feet)

Flowering:
April

Habitat of Hawthorn-Leaved Maple:

Common in temperate deciduous forests, usually growing in open places along mountain paths or at streamsides and in young secondary forests at elevations of 200 - 1100 metres.

Other uses of the herb:

The leaves are packed around apples, rootcrops etc to help preserve them. A paste made from the bark is used in paper-making.

Propagation of Hawthorn-Leaved Maple:

Seed - this species does not usually hybridise so seed of garden origin is perfectly all right. It is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, it usually germinates in the following spring. Pre-soak stored seed for 24 hours and then stratify for 2 - 4 months at 1 - 8°C. It can be slow to germinate. The seed can be harvested "green" (when it has fully developed but before it has dried and produced any germination inhibitors) and sown immediately. It should germinate in late winter. If the seed is harvested too soon it will produce very weak plants or no plants at all. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on until they are 20cm or more tall before planting them out in their permanent positions. Layering, which takes about 12 months, is successful with most species in this genus. Cuttings of young shoots in June or July. The cuttings should have 2 - 3 pairs of leaves, plus one pair of buds at the base. Remove a very thin slice of bark at the base of the cutting, rooting is improved if a rooting hormone is used. The rooted cuttings must show new growth during the summer before being potted up otherwise they are unlikely to survive the winter. Grafting of cultivars can be carried out using the rootstock from any species in the Macrantha section of this genus, which includes the species A. pensylvanicum which is included in the database.

Cultivation of the herb:

Common in temperate deciduous forests, usually growing in open places along mountain paths or at streamsides and in young secondary forests at elevations of 200 - 1100 metres.

Medicinal use of Hawthorn-Leaved Maple:

None known

Known hazards of Acer crataegifolium:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.