''Acer opalus'', the Italian maple, is a species of

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

native to the hills and mountains of southern and western

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and north to southern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and also in northwest

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Description

''Acer opalus'' is a medium-sized

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

growing to tall, with a trunk up to 1 m diameter. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are glossy green, long and across, palmately lobed with blunt teeth. They turn yellow in autumn. The

bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

is grey and pinkish. It peels in square plates. It has small yellow

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s that open before the leaves appear. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a pair of winged samaras, each seed up to in diameter with a wing.

Subspecies

The Italian maple has the following recognized subspecies: *''Acer opalus'' subsp. ''opalus'': the lower leaf surfaces are pubescent mostly restricted to the primary veins. This maple grows from North Spain to western-South France including Corsica, in Switzerland up to Germany, in North Italy and very rare in North Algeria. *''Acer opalus'' subsp. ''obtusatum'' (Willd.) Gams, Balkan maple: it has shallowly obtuse lobe tips and persistently pubescent lower leaf surfaces. This maple grows from Centre-North Italy to Sicily, in Corsica, in western Balkan Peninsula extending to Greece, and also down to North Algeria. These two subspecies was originally described as a separate species in 1806 but was reduced to subspecies status by 1925. The Spanish maple, '' Acer granatense'' Boiss., native to eastern Spain, Mallorca and northern Morocco, belongs to the ''Acer opalus'' complex and has been variously treated as ''Acer opalus'' subspecies by some authors.

Distribution and habitat

This maple grows from sea level up to 2100 m a.s.l. It can form small pure stands or be mixed with other broadleaved species such as ''Quercus'' spp., ''Sorbus'' spp. and other ''Acer'' species. It prefers limestone soils, growing both on stony substrates and on well-developed soils.

References

External links

photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden
{{Taxonbar, from=Q163822 opalus Trees of Europe Trees of Morocco Flora of Algeria Trees of Mediterranean climate Plants described in 1768 Taxa named by Philip Miller