Help identify this. Is it a maple? I got it from a nursery. Thanks.

[KKBonsai]

 

[Dkdhej]

Acer negundo?

 

[KKBonsai]

That looks about right according to the Google images.Thanks!

 

[Shibui]

Yes. that's Acer negundo AKA box elder.
Tough, hardy and often quite weedy when seeds germinate and grow all over the place. Good to practice with but not so good for quality bonsai.
Leaves are large and compound and internodes tend to be long so it is hard to get a pleasing bonsai with good scale.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I don't think it's Box Elder. The terminal lobes should be more sharply pointed. There are lots of Asian species not in general use elsewhere, and very few varieties of A. negundo worth selling as nursery stock.

 

[DonovanC]

I think @Forsoothe! might be right. Box Elders grow all over the place where I live - I probably have 20 seedlings along my fence right now. From my experience, the leaf shape tends to be a bit inconsistent, but the tips do look a bit blunted. And I’ve definitely never seen one at a nursery.
But then again like I said they do tend to be inconsistent in shape.
.

 

[HorseloverFat]

I agree with @Forsoothe! and @DonovanC to a certain extent.. as far as not being worthy to sell in a nursery. I’ve never seen that.. they grow like weeds.

.... buuuuut that IS around MY area... I’ve never been to a South African nursery... or seen just HOW a negundo would grow in south africa...

The reason I say this is... Negundos (at least around me) grow differently from their “families” even blocks away (when it comes to leaf shape and size)

 

[HorseloverFat]

Here are two different negundos on my block... about 20 feet from each other.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Sorry, nothing personal, but I get frustrated with all these threads about identifying my tree.

You bought the tree from a nursery. For the money you paid, you should have gotten a label. If there was no label telling you the tree is: DON'T BUY THE DAMN TREE IF THEY CAN NOT TELL YOU WHAT IT IS. Just walk away.

And now I will walk away.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Sorry, nothing personal, but I get frustrated with all these threads about identifying my tree.

You bought the tree from a nursery. For the money you paid, you should have gotten a label. If there was no label telling you the tree is: DON'T BUY THE DAMN TREE IF THEY CAN NOT TELL YOU WHAT IT IS. Just walk away.

And now I will walk away.

I’ve also wondered this... most stuff I see in nurseries is labeled.. between two and three times... also if I have questions.. they can ALWAYS help me...
Do people not speak to each other anymore?
I wonder if this is another example in the “lost art of human interaction/communication” brought about by our NEW “tongue”..

 

[sorce]

Note SA locale.

Sorce

 

[rollwithak]

Sorry, nothing personal, but I get frustrated with all these threads about identifying my tree.

You bought the tree from a nursery. For the money you paid, you should have gotten a label. If there was no label telling you the tree is: DON'T BUY THE DAMN TREE IF THEY CAN NOT TELL YOU WHAT IT IS. Just walk away.

And now I will walk away.

 

[Dkdhej]

Apart from the leaves, the trunk also reminds me of the trunks of boxelder. A pic to compare:

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

The nursery is in South Africa, guesses from North America are likely to be very, very wrong.

The OP should take the tree back, either to get a name, or get a refund. No excuse for the nursery not providing a label.

 

[0soyoung]

As you'se guys have shown, acer negundo (box elder) typically has 5 and sometimes 7 leaflets in each compound leaf. just as elder (elder berry) do, hence the name. The OP shows only 3 leaflets per compound leaf, so I agree with those refuting the box elder ID.

• Acer griseum (aka paperbark maple) is a possibility, based on the compound leaf and the shape of the 3-leaflets, BUT the bark is not right! Even young stems are reddish brown and never green.
• Acer trifolum (aka 3-flowered or shaggy bark maple) is another possibility, again based on the compound leaf with 3 leaflets and would be my guess. Leaflets should be lighter green below and the central vein hairy.
• Acer mandshuricum (Manchurian maple) is another maple with 3-leaflet compound leaves, but they are glossy green above, paler green below and with long tapered tips and something like 20 teeth on the margin --> not the OP tree!
• Acer maximowiczianum (Nikko maple) has striped bark when young, but it has very large leaves, much larger than even box elder's.
• Acer. henryi (Henry's maple) is also a possibility, but I don't know about its identifying characteristics beyond being a 3-leaflet maple and having what I think are more serate margins than the OP's.
• Acer cissifolium (ivy or ash leafed maple) - is the last possibility, but leaflets resemble ivy/ash leaves which doesn't seem to be the OP's. Further, young stems are reddish purple.

I think this is an exhaustive list of 3-leaflet maples. All are Asian species, Japan, Korea, and primarily China. While I agree with

I get frustrated with all these threads about identifying my tree

this (compound leaf maples) happened to be an evening's obsession of a few weeks ago.

 

[KKBonsai]

I completely understand you. I got it for free from a local nursery, the guy was shutting down his business so I picked it up for a free, I was helped by one of his gardners who said it's a maple.

 

[TomB]

Try comparing to Acer triflorum (which I think is the same tree as 0soyoung has called trifolum up above).

 

[0soyoung]

Try comparing to Acer triflorum (which I think is the same tree as 0soyoung has called trifolum up above).

misfingered
Thx 4 the correction