Three-flowered Maple is prized in U.S. gardens for peeling bark and fall leaves that blend yellow, orange, and red. Unlike the familiar single-bladed maple leaf, each leaf is divided into three separate leaflets.
Appearance
Appearance
Light brown bark peels in vertical strips and reveals warm golden-brown inner bark.
Growth form
In cultivation it usually becomes a rounded tree about 20–30 ft (6–9 m) tall and wide.
Leaves
Each leaf has three toothed leaflets. The foliage turns yellow, orange, and red in fall.
Flowers
Small greenish-yellow flowers open in April in clusters of three.
Fruit
Paired, fuzzy winged fruits are about 1 in (2.5 cm) long and mature after flowering.
Three-flowered Maple has three separate leaflets. Korean maple (Acer pseudosieboldianum) has one rounded leaf blade divided into nine to eleven deep lobes.
Why they get mixed up · Both are cold-hardy Asian maples with bright fall color.
Both have three leaflets, but Three-flowered Maple has peeling bark and hairy leaf stalks. Manchurian maple (Acer mandshuricum) has smooth gray bark, nearly hairless stalks, and narrower leaflets.
Why they get mixed up · Both are closely related maples with three leaflets from northeastern Asia.
Where it lives
Typical habitats
woodland gardens
residential landscapes
arboretums
Range
It is native to Korea and northeastern China, not the United States. In the U.S. it is grown as an ornamental specimen tree.
Preferred conditions
It does best in moist, well-drained acidic soil in full sun to partial shade and is suitable for 5–7.
Flowering
Flowers Apr
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Flowers
Flowers Apr
Conservation
IUCN Red List
LCLeast Concern·Low risk of extinction
Culture and stories
Culture and stories
Its common name refers to the flowers appearing in groups of three.