How do you recognise Field maple (Acer campestre)?

Leaf

John De Vos, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0

Field maple

Acer campestre L.

Family: Sapindaceae

8 to 15 m tall

Hedges, woodland edges and open woods

Flowering: April – June

Full sun

Part shade

-30°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

The smallest native maple, often clipped as a country hedge. 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.

🌸 Flowers

Small erect racemes, yellowish green

🍎 Fruits

Samaras with parallel, almost opposite wings

🪵 Bark

Light brown, often corky and cracked into strips

🗺️ Distribution

Europe, Asia Minor; very common in France in country hedges and woodland edges

🐝 Value for pollinators

Inconspicuous but nectar-rich spring flowering, visited by bees

✂️ Horticultural uses

Widely used as a clipped country hedge and in avenue planting, valued for its golden autumn foliage

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No known toxicity

⚠️ Look-alike species

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.

Field maple

Acer campestre

Montpellier maple

Acer monspessulanum

Field maple has rounded-lobed leaves and a common habit in hedges, whereas Montpelier maple has leaves with 3 clearly distinct lobes, leathery and glossy, typical of the Mediterranean maquis.

Field maple

Acer campestre

Norway maple

Acer platanoides

Field maple has generally smaller leaves and more rounded lobes than Norway maple; its young shoots may also bear corky ridges, absent on Norway maple.

🌿 Other Sapindaceae to discover

Sycamore maple

Acer pseudoplatanus

Horse chestnut

Aesculus hippocastanum

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.