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Tree ID please

NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
in Plants
Does anyone recognise this just from the maple leaf shape and autumn colour? It’s a particularly glowing yellow this year, hence noticing it, but it’s halfway down a plunging roadside bank so getting close enough to see the trunk and bark is tricky.  The trunk behind the first photo is a different tree, this one is a skinny thing.

Growing wild in northern Spain, near the Pyrenees:


Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.

Posts

  • Arthur1Arthur1 Posts: 542
    It looks like Acer campestre but I'm afraid I know nothing about trees in Spain.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    edited November 2022
    Yes it does look like field maple - there a plenty around here and their buttery-yellow leaves really stand out.
    Most here have lost their leaves now.

    There's this thread where I posted some leaf pics-
    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/comment/2554652#Comment_2554652

    Comparing the leaf in the above thread, I'm not sure it's an exact match..
    Very similar growing habit though.

    I love the Pyrenees - used to take driving holidays there often stayed in a tiny village called Laruns - fabulous scenery and good food.


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I did wonder if it might be @Arthur1 since their distribution range does include our area. I suspect it is something pretty common, no fancy med species here!
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Maybe this- Acer Opalus


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    @Pete.8 Opalus looks a better match, again native here. The leaves are kind of fattee and softer, so yes blunter maple shape, thanks for that. The field maple does look more sharply defined in your link.  I can see I’m going to have to rappel down the slope for a closer inspection!

    I live in what you might call the foothills of the foothills of the Pyrenees on the edge of a volcanic zone called La Garrotxa, beautiful area, drop in next time you are over 😉 
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @Nollie Sometimes you can see a beautiful plant or tree from a distance, wonder what it is only to find when you get closer you knew what it was all along. I can understand exactly why it attracted you and why you didn't get any closer!
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    edited November 2022
    You live in a beautiful part of the world @Nollie
    I spent some time having a nose around your area - courtesy of Google Earth. Beautiful and unusual landscapes - and mountain views in the distance.

    Each year I used to visit the Madrid office of the US bank I worked for and would include a 3-week holiday en-route (and get my petrol paid for :))
    Driving south through France eventually the Pyrenees would begin to rise in the distance and my heart would soar with their awesome beauty.
    I'd have lunch with my colleague at the Madrid office then drive back to the Pyrenees and spend the rest of the time exploring northern Spain and the Pyrenees.
    Santiago de Compostela was always a favourite and its gruesome Museum of Medieval Torture.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    You probably know the Pyrenees better than I do @Pete.8, never made it to the western end. We keep telling ourselves ‘next year’ we will explore more!
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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