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Norway Maple Scientific Name: Acer platanoides Common Name: Norway Maple Division: Magnoliophyta Family: Aceraceae Genus: Acer GENERAL DESCRIPTION The Norway Maple is a fast-growing tree that transplants readily and tolerates a wide range of soil conditions, establishes quickly, and is adaptable to polluted atmosphere. When mature, forms a rounded canopy that tops out at 50 to 60 feet.  The tree is most noticeable in the spring, when it is covered in lime-green flowers and the fall, when it turns deep yellow. Native to Europe, Norway Maple was once used extensively in the landscape, as both a street and landscape tree. It has fallen out of favor because of its invasive nature. This is especially true in woodlands, where it out-competes our native species.  In Central Park we have removed hundreds in the woodlands and replaced them with native species. Norway Maple in the Ramble, north of the Loeb Boathouse

Flower   Flat-topped lime-green clusters, appearing in April, before the tree leafs out. Ornamentally insignificant. Fruit Two-winged samara, 1-1/2 to 2 inches long, grows in clusters. Leaf   Five-lobed, sharply pointed. Dark green on top, paler underneath. When the petiole is cut, it exudes a milky sap. Bark   Gray with tight ridges and furrows.   Form:  Medium-sized, up to 60 feet, oval, usually with dense rounded crown. LOCATIONS IN CENTRAL PARK Top of Cedar Hill at East 79th Street  West 81st Street, adjacent to the bridle path  East 93rd Street, between running track and bridle path  South of Sheep Meadow Photo Credit: Steve Baskauf, bioimages.vanderbilt.edu/ Matthew Brown, Central Park Conservancy Neil Calvanese, Central Park Conservancy