Acer platanoides

This is one of a series of short articles about trees in the Belfast Botanic Gardens compiled by the Friends group. The tree tag number where present relates to the small aluminium discs, usually fixed on the tree trunk, 2 to 3m above ground level.

A fast-growing tree, native to most of Europe, but not the British Isles, just extending into Norway. It is superficially quite similar to the sycamore, Acer pseudoplatanus, but does not suffer from the tar spot fungus that is ubiquitous on sycamore. In Autumn its leaves turn an attractive yellow, unlike those of sycamore which turn from green to dusty brown. It bears the winged seeds (samaras) typical of a maple, these being larger than those of sycamore. In Belfast Botanic Gardens there is a well grown, symmetrical, specimen between the PEC and its car-park.

Photos taken in Belfast Botanic Gardens in 2014 and 2015. Copyright: Friends of Belfast Botanic Gardens.