Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots(unranked):Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Acer
Species: A. griseum
Binomial name: Acer griseum
Common name: Paperbark Maple
Acer griseumis a species of maple native to central China, in the provinces of Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Sichuan, at altitudes of 1,500–2,000 m.
It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree, reaching 6-9 m (20-30 ft) tall, 5-6 m (15-25 ft) wide, with a trunk up to 70 cm (2 ft) diameter.
The bark is smooth, shiny orange-red, peeling in thin, papery layers; it may become fissured in old trees. The shoots are densely downy at first, this wearing off by the second or third year and the bark exfoliating by the third or fourth year. The leaves are compound, with a 2–4 cm petiole with three leaflets, each 3-10 cm long and 2-6 cm broad, dark green above, bright glaucous blue-green beneath, with several blunt teeth on the margins. The flowers are androdioecious, produced in small corymbs in spring, the fruit being a paired samara with two winged seeds about 1 cm long with a 3 cm wing.
Paperbark Maple Lat 39 3'19.572" S Long 174 5'30.978" E Datum WGS 84
Paperbark Maple leaves and seeds
The trunk showing the paperbark