Acer cappadocicum, the Cappadocian maple, is a maple native to Asia, from central Turkey (ancient Cappadocia) east along the Caucasus, the Himalayas, to southwestern China.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 20–30 m tall with a broad, rounded crown. The leaves are opposite, palmately lobed with 5-7 lobes, 6–15 cm across. The leaf stems bleed a milky latex when broken. The flowers are in corymbs of 15-30 together, yellow-green with five petals 3–4 mm long; flowering occurs in early spring. The fruit is a double samara with two winged seeds, the seeds are disc-shaped, strongly flattened, 6–11 mm across and 2–3 mm thick. The wings are 2.5–3 cm long, widely spread, approaching a 180° angle. The bark is greenish-grey, smooth in young trees, becoming shallowly grooved when mature.[1] [2] [4] [5]
There are three varieties, sometimes treated as subspecies:[3] [4]
The closely related Acer lobelii from southern Italy is also treated as a subspecies of A. cappadocicum by some authors.[4] The eastern Asian species Acer amplum, Acer pictum, and Acer truncatum are also very closely related, and often confused with A. cappadocicum in cultivation.[3]
Cappadocian maple is grown as an ornamental tree in Europe. Many of the trees in cultivation show a strong tendency to produce numerous root sprouts, a character rare in maples.[1] [2] The hybrid maple Acer × zoeschense shares this character and probably has Acer cappadocicum as one of its parents.[2]
The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-