Hornbeam Maple - Acer carpinifolium
I have to admit that this tree stumped me the first time I saw it -- I had to go back home and look it up in Dirr. (ie, Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses
It turned out to be the hornbeam maple, totally unknown to me. I'd walked by it many times, but I didn't notice it was a maple until the samaras appeared recently -- and my first thought was "How can these be maple leaves?" And according to Dirr, it may have "the most appropriate common name of any maple." Because indeed, the leaves do resemble those of the hornbeam. They apparently change to rich gold and brown in autumn, and the samaras have that nice pinkish cast in spring.
These maples normally grow to about 25 feet max, and they have a lovely vase shape. I sure hope to see more of them in my neighborhood soon, where scores of new trees have been planted in recent years -- many of them redbuds and cherries small enough to fit underneath the electric wires so that the electric company won't have to come along twice a year and butcher them.
It's all part of a program started in 2001 by Casey Trees, an organization that is working to restore DC's tree canopy. DC was once known as the "City of Trees," but it suffered a dramatic loss of tree canopy due to neglect, budget shortfalls and diseases such as Dutch elm disease. Casey was established with a donation by philanthropist Betty Brown Casey, and since 2003, the organization has planted over 5000 trees, some of them seedlings, but 3500-plus large ones. I like the cherries on my own street and the redbuds on the next street over, but the hornbeam maples are truly spectacular. It's a small tree that would be great in almost any urban setting, and it's a little gem.
(click on photos to enlarge)
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