Acer sinense | |
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Acer sinense in Christchurch Botanic Gardens | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Sapindales |
Family: | Sapindaceae |
Genus: | Acer |
Section: | Acer sect. Palmata |
Series: | Acer ser. Palmata |
Species: | A. sinense
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Binomial name | |
Acer sinense | |
Synonyms[2] | |
List
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Acer sinense is a species of flowering plant in the maple genus Acer, native to southeast and south-central China.[2] A small (typically 3 to 5 m tall) tree rarely reaching 15 m, it prefers to grow in forested valleys 500 to 2500 m above sea level.[3]
It is a highly morphologically variable species, leading to some taxonomic confusion. Some authorities consider it to be a subspecies of Campbell's maple, Acer campbellii subsp. sinense, but this is incorrect; it is in its own species complex.[4] Good traits to distinguish it from members of the Acer wilsonii species complex are that its inflorescence is a compound corymbose panicle with 60 to 70 flowers, with pedicels that are 5 to 6 mm long, its ovaries are pilose, appearing white, and its nutlet is nearly glabrous, and convex, without any veins.[4]
key … based on the number of leaf lobes: 3-lobed (A. wilsonii coml[p]ex), 5-lobed (A. sinense complex), and 7-lobed taxa (A. campbellii complex)