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Acer pensylvanicum

Common name:	Moosewood	Family:	Aceraceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Georgia, west to Michigan.
Habitat:	Moist rich woodlands, often by water, from sea level to 1,000 metres[200, 229]. Usually in the shade of other trees and occasionally forming a large part of the shrubby undergrowth[82].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	A. pennsylvanicum[L] A. striatum[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Cancer Bush [E], Moosewood [L], Moosewood USA [H], Polecat Tree [E], Snake-barked Maple UK [H], Striped Maple [L,DEN1,FEIS,P,B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	acer = sharp, pungent;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Sapindales. Maple family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us(Wv)

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 4.5m. It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen in July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiemetic; Emetic; Kidney; Pectoral.

A tea made from the inner bark is used in the treatment of colds, coughs, bronchitis, kidney infections, gonorrhoea and the spitting of blood[222]. A wash is used externally on swollen limbs and as a wash for paralysis[222].
A tea made from the leaves and twigs is used to both allay and induce vomiting, depending on the dosage[222].

Other Uses

Preservative.

The leaves are packed around apples, rootcrops etc to help preserve them[18, 20].
The wood is light, soft, close-grained and satiny, it weighs 33lb per cubic foot[82, 235]. It is not used commercially, though it is sometimes used for fuel[226].

Cultivation details

Of easy cultivation, it prefers a sunny position or light dappled shade and a good moist well-drained soil but succeeds on most soils, especially those on the acid side, and dislikes alkaline soils[182, 200]. Grows well in heavy clay soils.
Plants are hardy to about -25°c when they are fully dormant[200].
A good tree for street planting[200].
Most maples are bad companion plants, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants[18, 20].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, it usually germinates in the following spring. Pre-soak stored seed for 24 hours and then stratify for 2 - 4 months at 1 - 8°c. It can be slow to germinate. The seed can be harvested 'green' (when it has fully developed but before it has dried and produced any germination inhibitors) and sown immediately. It should germinate in late winter. If the seed is harvested too soon it will produce very weak plants or no plants at all[80, 113]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on until they are 20cm or more tall before planting them out in their permanent positions.
Layering, which takes about 12 months, is successful with most species in this genus.
Cuttings of young shoots in June or July. The cuttings should have 2 - 3 pairs of leaves, plus one pair of buds at the base. Remove a very thin slice of bark at the base of the cutting, rooting is improved if a rooting hormone is used. The rooted cuttings must show new growth during the summer before being potted up otherwise they are unlikely to survive the winter.
Grafting is not usually advised for this species, though any cultivars can be grafted onto rootstocks of the species.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Acer pennsylvanicum (a possible synonym).

References for the family Aceraceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.

[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.

[80] McMillan-Browse. P. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books 1985 ISBN 0-901361-21-6
Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[226] Lauriault. J. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. 1989 ISBN 0889025649
Very good on identification for non-experts, the book also has a lot of information on plant uses.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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