Acer rufinerve seed

LATIN NAME: ACER RUFINERVE

COMMON NAME: Snakebark Maple

The snakebark maple snakes the small, deciduous tree with the three-lobed, toothed leaves and the smooth, grey-green bark striped with the white and the pale-green vertical bands, the stripes snaking up the trunk and the branches, the small, yellow-green flowers opening with the leaves through the spring, the paired, winged keys following. The tree grows steadily into the neat, open crown, and it likes the sun or the light shade, and the moist, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The striped bark of the snakebark maple gives it a recognised place in the research on the bark-interest maples of the great maple group, and the rufinerve species appears in the studies of the bark pigments and the cool-climate ornamental growth. The work looks at the way the white and green bands stripe the trunk, the winter interest value, and the seed biology. The horticulturists value the bark, and the growers of the small ornamental and woodland trees keep the species in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the cool garden, the snakebark maple snakes the winter garden with the striped bark. The lobed leaves colour through the autumn, the neat crown makes the fine specimen for the small garden, and the tree grows quickly into the woodland form. It grows well in the moist, well-drained, sunny or lightly shaded ground. White-striped, neat and winter-bright.

To grow the Snakebark Maple from seed, sow the winged seeds into the sandy drills of the cold frame in the autumn, then cover them lightly, keep the frame cool and gently watered.

Sow the winged seeds into the sandy drills of the cold frame, and give the young trees the open, sheltered spot. The snake stripes come within a few seasons. , and the young trees rise through the spring. The snake stripes will show within a few seasons.

This remarkable maple is certainly one of the highlights of a garden in winter. The striking, white, stripes on the stems and branches is due to waxes accumulating in longitudinal fissures of the expanding bark. With time the striping disappears as the bark becomes corky.