This Snakebark Maple is planted at the edge of north facing wooded slope. Its in primarily shade during the summer, and full shade during winter. The section of trunk facing north (bright shade?) has turned red, while that facing south (towards woods) has maintained its normal green w/ white striations. I wasn't aware that the species will turn red like this, and was wondering if others have experienced this.
North facing:
And south facing:
Yes
I like the north side better.
Scott
Does that mean that any seedling displaying the red bark could be considered 'Erythrocladum'?
I don't think so. I have the cultivar "Erythrocladum," and the red on that is almost pink. Cerise, maybe? And, it's a fairly weak grower. On plain species A. pennsylvanicum photos I've seen (I haven't seen the species all that much), I've seen both green bark with striations and that dull, burgundy red with striations, so I think that is fairly normal, especially with younger trees and smaller branches. As the tree ages, I think the bark stabilizes to a consistent green.
All the above said, A. penn. does not grow wild around here, so I do hope that somebody with much more experience with the wild-growing plant speaks up.
Scott
Maackia,
I just found this photo I took a while back of an Acer pennsylvanicum. Notice how it has the same red/green look that you described. Unfortunately, I do not remember the exposure of the tree.
Scott
Edited to add: On closer examination, the photo reveals deer-fencing typical of Mt. Airy Arboretum, which means I probably took this picture three weeks ago. Further examination reveals what looks to be a crack potentially caused by sunscald on the red side of the trunk, which might mean that the red side is the south or southeast side of the tree.
This message was edited Nov 5, 2006 6:00 PM
