183. Campus Maple
A rare old maple growing at Reading University
One of the many prizes awaiting explorers of the University of Reading’s Whiteknights campus is a relatively small, but clearly old Cretan maple. An intriguing species very rarely seen in these islands, it is noteworthy for its semi-evergreen habit of retaining leaves through the winter and shedding them just as new leaves and acid green flowers appear in the spring.
Species details
Cretan Maple
Acer sempervirens
Where to find it
Whiteknights Campus, University of Reading, RG6 6UR
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Cretan maple notes
There are very few Cretan maples growing in Britain and Ireland, although it is an interesting plant so perhaps its planting should be encouraged. It is native to Crete, other Greek islands, the Peloponnese and there are isolated populations in western Turkey. It first travelled to northern Europe in the 18th century, and a few old plantings are dotted around old collections. In fact, the Reading example could be the oldest in Britain having been planted over 200 years ago by the Marquess of Blandford when what is today the Whiteknights campus of Reading University was his private and celebrated botanical collection. An even older example, planted in 1702, is the oldest tree in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris.
