Acer campestre L.
Eng.: Field maple, hedge maple. Spa.: Arce común. Fre.: Érable champêtre. Ara.: Keïkab, keikob, asfendan, siqmur. Tam.: Tfifia, arich.
Deciduous tree, polygamous, up to 20 m in height, with regular shape, with ovate-rounded crown. Trunk well defined, straight, with thick bark, almost suberose, fissured. Branches extended, with suberose bark, pinkish or reddish when young, with ribs, then greyish or reddish-brown, very characteristic of this species. Younger branchlets reddish. Leaves (1.5)3-8(10) × (1.5)3.5-8.5(11), opposite, palmate, with cordate base, 5-lobed, occasionally with 6-7 lobes, coriaceous, with long petioles, glabrous or with hairs along the veins on the upper side, deep green, lustrous, and hairy on the underside, at least along the main veins, slightly lighter green. Lobes unequal, sometimes 2 basal lobes very small or even absent, ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, rarely acute, with sinuate margin, often ciliate, with unequal sinuses, the upper sinuses deeper, exceeding half of the leaf blade forming an acute angle. Petiole long, enlarged at the base, hairy, reddish-brown or pink. Inflorescence corymbiform, erect, hairy, pauciflorous. Flowers hermaphrodite or unisexual (male), greenish, with long pedicels. Calyx with 5 free sepals. Corolla with 5 petals, alternating with the sepals, fused to a fleshy disk, like stamens. Stamens 8, clearly exserted in male flowers. Fruit a paired samara, with hairy seminiferous area, with straight or curved outwards wings, slightly or not tapered at the base, very divergent, at an angle of almost 180°.
Flowering:
April to May.
Fruiting:
September to November.
Habitat:
Forests and rocky terrain on limestone substrates and, occasionally siliceous, in cool and humid environments with relatively high rainfall. From subhumid to humid bioclimate, on mesomediterranean and supramediterranean floors.
Distribution:
Distributed throughout much of Europe, up to the Caucasus, Anatolia and Iran. In North Africa it is only found in Algeria, forming part of forests and thickets of mountains of Little Kabylia (eastern Tellian Atlas) and at the NW region of Tunisia, where it is very rare.
Conservation status:
Although North Africa this is a rare species, it is common and widespread in general. In the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species it is listed as Least Concern (LC) at global level (Crowley & Rivers, 2017). In Algeria it is included in its List of protected non cultivated flora (Executive Decree 12-03 on 4-Jan-2012).