Hedge Maple

Common Names

• Field Maple

Scientific Names

• Acer campestre
• Sapindaceae (soapberry) family

History of
the Tree Species

• Native to continental Europe, Britain, Southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and North Africa in the Atlas Mountains.
• The strong, white wood is used for furniture, flooring, wood turning, and musical instruments.
• Small size and slow growth limit the usefulness of wood on a mass scale.
• Has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Scientific Facts

• The sap can be turned into a drink or concentrated into a syrup/sweetener via boiling
• Sap contains a lower concentration of sugar than sugar maples (A. saccharum)
• Best sap production occurs in cold-winter areas with continental climates
• Bark is astringent and slightly anticholesterolemic -- decoction has been used to bathe sore eyes