Acer freemanii, Freeman's maple, in Belfast Botanic Gardens

This is one of a series of short articles about trees in the Belfast Botanic Gardens compiled by the Friends group. The tree tag number relates to the small aluminium discs, usually fixed on the tree trunk, 2 to 3m above ground level.

Acer freemanii is a hybrid between A. rubrum and A. saccharinum, both parents being North American natives. The original tree was selected and registered by Willet Wandell in central Illinois. It makes a substantial tree up to 20m high, a narrow shape when young as in the Belfast Botanic Gardens, but more spreading as it ages. There are a number of different versions of this hybridization - other variations are Autumn Blaze, Celebration, Morgan and Marmo. These vary in final height, leaf shape and growth form. All have deeply cut leaves turning red or orange-red in autumn, small red flowers in spring and reddish young stems.