鸡爪槭
分类:植物科普
鸡爪槭 Acer palmatum Thunb.
鸡爪槭叶片
鸡爪槭花期
鸡爪槭果期
落叶小乔木。树皮深灰色。小枝细瘦；当年生枝紫色或淡紫绿色；多年生枝淡灰紫色或深紫色。叶纸质，外貌圆形，直径7-10厘米，基部心脏形或近于心脏形稀截形，5-9掌状分裂，通常7裂，裂片长圆卵形或披针形，先端锐尖或长锐尖，边缘具紧贴的尖锐锯齿；裂片间的凹缺钝尖或锐尖，深达叶片的直径的1/2或1/3；上面深绿色，无毛；下面淡绿色，在叶脉的脉腋被有白色丛毛；主脉在上面微显著，在下面凸起；叶柄长4-6厘米，细瘦，无毛。花紫色，杂性，雄花与两性花同株，生于无毛的伞房花序，总花梗长2-3厘米，叶发出以后才开花；萼片5,卵状披针形，先端锐尖，长3毫米；花瓣5，椭圆形或倒卵形，先端钝圆，长约2毫米；雄蕊8，无毛，较花瓣略短而藏于其内；花盘位于雄蕊的外侧，微裂；子房无毛，花柱长，2裂，柱头扁平，花梗长约1厘米，细瘦，无毛。翅果嫩时紫红色，成熟时淡棕黄色；小坚果球形，直径7毫米，脉纹显著；翅与小坚果共长2-2.5厘米，宽1厘米，张开成钝角。花期5月，果期9月。
产山东、河南南部、江苏、浙江、安徽、江西、湖北、湖南、贵州等省。生于海拔200-1200米的林边或疏林中。朝鲜和日本也有分布。模式标本采自日本。
本种在各国早已引种栽培，变种和变型很多，其中有红槭（变型）forma atropurpureum (Van Houtte) Schwerim 和羽毛槭（变种）var. dissectum (Thunb.) K. Koch 均在我国东南沿海各省庭园中已经广泛栽培。
Trees deciduous, andromonoecious, to 15 m tall. Bark greenish gray or light brown, smooth. Branchlets grayish green, glabrous; winter buds purplish red, conical, small, with 5 pairs of scales, ciliate, terminal buds usually absent. Petiole 2-6 cm; leaf blade suborbicular, 3-6 × 4-8 cm, membranous to papery, yellowish brown pubescent when unfolding, soon glabrous except for axillary tuft of hairs on abaxial surface, base cordate to subtruncate, palmately 5- or 7-lobed to middle; lobes lanceolate, margin irregularly doubly serrate, apex long acuminate. Inflorescence corymbose-paniculate, 10-20-flowered, 3-4 cm, half-pendulous, subtended by 1 or 2 pairs of leaves. Flowers opening with leaves. Sepals 5, purplish red, oblong to oblanceolate, ca. 3 mm, pubescent near margin. Petals pale yellow to pinkish white, broadly obovate, smaller than sepals, glabrous. Stamens 8, exserted, ca. 3.5 mm, shorter in pistillate flowers, inserted at inside of disk. Ovary glabrous; style long, topped by divergent stigmas. Abortive pistil in staminate flowers minute. Samaras ca. 1.5 cm with wing, glabrous; wings spreading at obtuse angle; nutlets elliptic-convex, only slightly veined with thin, weak wall. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Sep. 2n = 26.
Widely cultivated in gardens in China [native to Japan and S Korea].
This species is a famous small ornamental tree with many cultivars.
