Acer oblongum
Encyclopedia
Acer oblongum, common name Himalayan Maple, Evergreen Maple and Kashmir Maple, is a species of maple
belonging to the Sapindaceae
family.
s. The fruits are represented by the typical two-winged samara
s, about 2.5 cm long, wind dispersed. It has been introduced for its wood and it is sometimes cultivated in large gardens for its evergreen foliage.
, in Nepal
, Kashmir
in India
, Pakistan
and southwestern China
.
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
belonging to the Sapindaceae
Sapindaceae
Sapindaceae, also known as the soapberry family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales. There are about 140-150 genera with 1400-2000 species, including maple, horse chestnut and lychee....
family.
Description
Acer oblongum is a medium-sized evergreen to semi-deciduous tree reaching a height of approximately 15–22 m (49.2–72.2 ). Unique among maples, this plant stays green all winter. The trunks are buttressed, with a smooth to wrinkled bark. Leaves are opposite, ovate-lanceolate with entire margin and petiolated, 5-12 cm long, with glaucous-green underside and dark green upperside. The young shoots are reddish bronze and finely hairy. The flowers are hermaphrodite, small and inconspicuous, about 4 mm, greenish white, gathered in hairy racemeRaceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s. The fruits are represented by the typical two-winged samara
Samara
-Geography:*Samara Oblast, a federal subject of Russia*Samara, Russia, a city on the eastern bank of the Volga River, Russia*Samara Bend, the largest bend of the Volga River*Samara Reservoir, an informal name of Kuybyshev Reservoir on the Volga River...
s, about 2.5 cm long, wind dispersed. It has been introduced for its wood and it is sometimes cultivated in large gardens for its evergreen foliage.
Distribution
This species grows in hilly regions of Asia at the foot of the western HimalayasHimalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and southwestern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.