Acer campestre variability

[AlainK]

I don't want to mix species, but Davidlpf's post on his "cork-bark" elms made me think of my "field maples", Acer campestre.

I have one with broad, rounded leaves. I took several root cuttings, and whatever the exposure to the sun, they all kept their characteristics. the one in the ground (regularly pruned to 2 metres, 7 feet), the others potted, with smaller leaves - of course, they are "bonsai" :



I also have some that look more like the ones I used to see when I was young : smaller, more divided leaves. One of them is another self-sown tree that I kept where it sprouted, it hides my dusbins (the green one and the blue one, I bring the bottles to the glass container once in a while). It gets the sun most of the day, say from 8:00 to 19:00 in summer.

Branches in their 2nd, 3rd and 4th year have this strange corky bark :



Even older branches show this, and even the trunk, to some extent. But the lower branch in the last photo doesn't, but notice the spider-like helm at the base :



I might try to get some root cuttings next spring since they're easy to propagate that way.

I think I also remember someone from England posting about a field maple with unusual leaves a few months ago: if he reads this, I'd be interested to hear about his tree...

 

[rodeolthr]

Love the leaf shape and size. What a keen eye, and a great find!

 

[AlainK]

What a keen eye, and a great find!

I'm nothing. There are plenty of "unusual trees" that are wating for you to raise.

Uphazard collectors, that's what we are...

 

[Davidlpf]

IMHO, there are two things to consider:

1- there are some specimens more prone to produce corky bark. Genetic factor.
2- Some specific conditions increase this predisposition. More sunny a dryer climate, and more herbivore pressure may force that a plant change it's growing habits in order to generate that protection tissue. Ambient factor.

Cork is a good barrier for the lost of moisture, sun burn, and is formed for suberin, that has few nutritional values so the herbivorous may like other plants tender and fresh.

The perfect storm occurs when you have a genetically predisposed specimen in suitable environmental conditions.

In this situation, the fittest will have the greatest offspring and longer lifespan, and will be the predominant form until that conditions change. Simply natural selection.

Natural selection is the process through which populations of living organisms adapt and change. Individuals in a population are naturally variable, meaning that they are all different in some ways. This variation means that some individuals have traits better suited to the environment than others. Individuals with adaptive traits—traits that give them some advantage—are more likely to survive and reproduce. These individuals then pass the adaptive traits on to their offspring. Over time, these advantageous traits become more common in the population. Through this process of natural selection, favorable traits are transmitted through generations.

Cheers