This silver maple is displaying discrete flowers in the Woodland Garden.
The genus Acer (maple) is complex taxonomically, but it is estimated to contain approximately 150 species of trees and shrubs from Europe, north Africa, Asia, and North and Central America. Horticulturally it is one of the most valuable genera, with species having attractive bark and foliage. It is generally not grown for its indiscrete flowers, though these have a quiet charm. In this species corymbs of red-pink stamens of the female flowers can be spotted in the canopy by a keen eye. A. saccharinum (silver maple) is a fast-growing North American native occurring on floodplains and watercourses of lowland regions. It can grow to 25m in height and has sharply toothed, five-lobed leaves which reach 20cm in length and take on yellow, orange or red tones in autumn.