The Arnold Arboretum has an extensive collection of maples (Acer spp.), containing 141 of the approximately 230 botanical taxa from around the world. Because of its diverse and numerous holdings of wild-collected maples, the Arnold Arboretum is designated as one of the Plant Collection Network’s maple collection sites. Our collection is especially rich in rare and unusual Asian maples, including a number of endangered species.
Because of these valuable accessions, the Arboretum’s maple collection was ranked as the most significant in the world for conservation purposes in a report by Botanic Gardens Conservation International. This organization, which promotes plant conservation efforts at botanic gardens and similar institutions, analyzed the maple collections of 228 institutions in 37 countries and found that the Arboretum holds the greatest number of Acer species listed as endangered or critically endangered in the wild.
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A remarkable and rare species native to central China, this maple is most known for its striking copper-colored papery bark. Plant collector Ernest Henry Wilson introduced it to North America in 1907. The Arboretum is home to some of the oldest paperbark maples outside of China.
| Plant ID | Accession Date | Recieved As | Origin | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
This quarter-mile tour through the Explorers Garden features stories from the Arboretum’s century and a half of collecting plants around the world. If you’re at the Arboretum, click here to take a version of this tour with Expeditions, our mobile web app.
