Acer mono
| Acer mono | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 49' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Late Spring |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
Acer mono
Propagation: Seed of this species is rarely available. If obtained, it is 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[1][2]. 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 onto the roots of A. platanoides is usually successful, but the graft should be made as low as possible to reduce the incident of suckers from the rootstock.
Cultivation: Of easy cultivation, it prefers a good moist well-drained soil[3] and a position that is at least moderately sunny[3][4]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Chlorosis can sometimes develop as a result of iron deficiency when the plants are grown in alkaline soils, but in general maples are not fussy as to soil pH.
A polymorphic species[5], it is closely related to A. truncatum[3].
Most maples are bad companion plants, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants[6][7].
Range: E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia and eastern Russia
Habitat: Mountains all over Japan[5]. Hillsides, mountain valleys and forests from sea level to 1800 metres in China[8].
Edibility: The sap contains a certain amount of sugar and can either be used as a drink, or can be concentrated into a syrup by boiling off the water[9][10]. The syrup is used as a sweetener on many foods. The concentration of sugar is considerably lower than in the sugar maples (A. saccharum). The tree trunk is tapped in the early spring, the sap flowing better on warm sunny days following a frost. The best sap production comes from cold-winter areas with continental climates.
Leaves - cooked. A famine food, they are only used when all else fails[11].
Medicinal: The leaves are an irritant[12].
The bark is astringent[12].
Usage: The leaves are packed around apples, rootcrops etc to help preserve them[6][7].
Wood - hard, close grained[13]. Used as a fuel[13].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Early Fall-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Monoecious
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Also Known As: A. pictum.
Links
References
- ↑ McMillan-Browse, Philip. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books, 1985.
- ↑ Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Philbrick, Helen and Richard Gregg. Companion Plants. Watkins, 1979.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Riotte, Louise. Carrots Love Tomatoes. Garden Way, 1978.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.