Bearded maple

Family: maples. In the wild it occurs in Primorsky Krai, northeastern China, and North Korea.

A large shrub up to 4-5 m tall or a small tree up to 10 m with a spreading crown. Bark on the trunks smooth, dark gray. Young shoots green, yellowish, or reddish. Leaves 3-5-lobed, membranous, almost unicolorous, thin, with sparse pubescence on the upper side, and on the underside with beards of long hairs in the angles of the veins, which probably gave it its species name. The leaf blade margin is coarsely incised or doubly serrate. In spring and summer the leaves are green, in autumn yellowish-orange, with various shades of yellow. Flowers are unisexual, small, yellowish, gathered in short compact racemes of 4-6 flowers. It blooms at the same time as leaf emergence for 7-15 days. Fruits are yellowish samaras up to 3.5 cm, with characteristic ribs on the nutlets, by which they are easily distinguished from other species.

Bearded maple is light-loving. Undemanding to soil. Wind-resistant. Grows quickly, tolerates pruning easily, and produces shoots from the stump. Propagated by seed. Ornamental throughout the year. Flowers and fruits from 6 years of age. Mass of 1000 seeds 20-43 g. Seed viability 91%. When summer cuttings are treated with a 0.01% solution of IMK for 16 hours, 64% root.

Suitable for creating compositional groups, looks good in solitary and group plantings on forest edges, in parks and forest parks. In cultivation since 1890.