Field maple or Sycamore maple: how to tell them apart?
Field maple and Sycamore maple look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Field maple
Acer campestre
Sycamore maple
Acer pseudoplatanus
Field maple has much smaller, less deeply cut leaves than the much larger, deeply lobed leaves of sycamore.
🍃 Leaves
Small opposite leaves, with 3 to 5 rounded lobes, often with a cordate base; they generally measure 5 to 10 cm.
Large opposite leaves with 5 lobes, often 10 to 25 cm, with the underside more or less hairy depending on the individual; the sinuses between the lobes are generally deeper than in Norway maple.
🌸 Flowers
Small erect racemes, yellowish green
Yellowish-green pendent racemes
🍎 Fruits
Samaras with parallel, almost opposite wings
Samaras with very widely spread wings, almost at a right angle
🪵 Bark
Light brown, often corky and cracked into strips
Grey, flaking off in irregular plates with age
📏 Size
8 to 15 m tall
20 to 30 m tall, sometimes more
🗺️ Habitat
Hedges, woodland edges and open woods
Cool forests, often in the mountains
⚠️ Toxicity
No known toxicity
Seeds and young shoots rich in hypoglycin A, toxic to horses (atypical myopathy); no known risk to humans from mere contact
🔎 And from the Sycamore maple side
Field maple has much smaller, less deeply cut leaves than the much larger, deeply lobed leaves of sycamore.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.