Three-flower maple
Acer triflorum · Sapindaceae · 복자기
How to spot it
Marked by compound leaves of three leaflets; its autumn color is described as the most beautiful and deep among maples.
(original photo, new tab)Leaf · Photo Makergreen · CC BY 4.0 
(original photo, new tab)Leaf · Photo Photo by David J. Stang · CC BY-SA 4.0 
(original photo, new tab)Bark · Photo Photo by David J. Stang · CC BY-SA 4.0 
(original photo, new tab)Bark · Photo Photo by David J. Stang · CC BY-SA 4.0
Look
- Leaves
- Leaves are opposite, compound with three leaflets; leaflets are long elliptic-ovate with 2 to 4 large teeth near the tip, and there are hairs on the margin and leaf stalk.
- Flowers
- In May, flowers grow in threes in flat-topped clusters at the branch tips, with brown hairs on the stalk.
- Fruit
- The samara is grayish-white with needle-like bristles, about 5 cm long; the wings spread at acute to obtuse angles, ripening from late September to late October.
- Bark
- The bark is grayish-white and the twigs have a reddish tint with white lenticels. Winter buds are black.
Where it grows
- In Korea
- Native (Korean Peninsula)
- Native to
- Found in China; in Korea it grows throughout the country, mainly north of the central region.
- Ecology
- Shade-tolerant when young but becomes sun-loving as it grows. It grows well in moist sandy loam, adapts to dry soil, and is very cold hardy.