''Acer carpinifolium'' (hornbeam maple; Japanese: チドリノキ ''Chidorinoki'' "zigzag tree") 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

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, on the islands of

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

, and

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

, where it grows in woodlands and alongside streams in mountainous areas.Rokko mountain chain guide of trees
''Acer carpinifolium''
(in Japanese

Trees of Japan
''Acer carpinifolium''
It is a small

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 10–15 m tall, with smooth, dark greenish-grey to grey-brown bark. 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 7–15 cm long and 3–6 cm broad, simple, unlobed, and pinnately veined with 18–24 pairs of veins and a serrated margin. They resemble leaves of

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

s more than they do other maples, except for being arranged in opposite pairs, and in the very small basal pair of veins being palmately arranged as in other maples. The

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 are 1 cm diameter, greenish yellow, produced in pendulous

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s 5–12 cm long in spring as the new leaves open; they are dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate trees. 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

samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

of two seeds each with a 2–3 cm long wing.Boroboro Flower Book
''Acer carpinifolium''
(in Japanese

Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins . It is occasionally cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

in temperate regions, mainly as a botanical curiosity to demonstrate the wide range of leaf morphology in the genus ''Acer'', but also for its bright yellow autumn colour. Both the scientific and common names derive from the superficial resemblance of its leaves to those of the genus '' Carpinus'' (hornbeams).

Gallery

Image:Hornbeam Maple Acer carpinifolium Leaves 3000px.jpg, Foliage Image:Acer capinifolium leaf.jpg, Leaves on a tree at the Morton Arboretum, accession 6-61-4 Image:Hornbeam Maple Acer carpinifolium Leaf 3000px.jpg, Leaves

References

External links

Hornbeam Maple
Large Format Diagnostic Photos, Morton Arboretum acc.1-61-4 {{Taxonbar, from=Q284462 carpinifolium Trees of Japan Endemic flora of Japan Dioecious plants Plants described in 1845 Taxa named by Philipp Franz von Siebold Taxa named by Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini