Tri-bud Field Maple

[Woocash]

I was out with the dogs this morning and came across a really old hedge with two maples situated at the end. One whip on one of them had 3 buds in a triangular formation running up it’s length as opposed to the usual two in opposites. All of the rest of the branches and whips etc on the tree had just opposites it was only this single 2 year old whip that had the three buds. I have never seen this before on a maple. Has anybody else? Or does anybody know what may have caused it? I am going to attempt in air layer or to collect cuttings, but I fear the farmer will be bringing out the old flail soon and it’ll gone ASAP So I have to act fast. Any thoughts?

I tried to get a close up, but my phone died after I’d taken this one of the maple in question

 

[cbroad]

I've seen trifoliate nodes before on another plant that was supposed to be normal opposite arrangement, but it wasn't maple. Weird thing was that it would go 3 buds per node, then 1 bud per node and then back to 3...

 

[misfit11]

How big is it? That trunk is fabulous! If it's within bonsai size I'd go talk with the farmer and see if he'd be okay with you collecting it. Especially if he's just going to be taking it out with his ol' flail ( don't know what that is. Must be an English term) anyway. It never hurts to ask. The worst anyone can say is no.

 

[Woocash]

I've seen trifoliate nodes before on another plant that was supposed to be normal opposite arrangement, but it wasn't maple. Weird thing was that it would go 3 buds per node, then 1 bud per node and then back to 3...

That is odd. This one has 3 buds on every node from collar to tip, but none on any other branch. Obviously there are a few basal buds on more established branches though.

 

[Woocash]

How big is it? That trunk is fabulous! If it's within bonsai size I'd go talk with the farmer and see if he'd be okay with you collecting it. Especially if he's just going to be taking it out with his ol' flail ( don't know what that is. Must be an English term) anyway. It never hurts to ask. The worst anyone can say is no.

Yea I’d love to but the two of them are huge. The top of the hedge is around 8ft tall so the trunks are chest height at least and several hundred years old. I wouldn’t feel right taking them anyway. Probably at least 10 generations of farmers have used these two as part of a boundary. That’s where they belong There maybe an air layer of a low branch which is worth it though, it’s just a mini version of the trunk.

Actually it’s on the next one over I think.

 

[BonsaiMatt]

I think it's a random mutation, happened on one branch on a trident I grew, I thought it was odd too. Take a look:

Three Leaved Trident Maple

One shoot on this trident maple has three leaves per node, rotating 120 degrees each node. Anyone seen this before? Thinking about rooting a cutting from that branch to see if this behavior persists...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[Woocash]

I think it's a random mutation, happened on one branch on a trident I grew, I thought it was odd too. Take a look:

Three Leaved Trident Maple

One shoot on this trident maple has three leaves per node, rotating 120 degrees each node. Anyone seen this before? Thinking about rooting a cutting from that branch to see if this behavior persists...

www.bonsainut.com

Nice thanks Matt. I assumed it would be and like you said, I’ve just never noticed it before, but I’ve not been looking out for it either. Did you take cuttings or anything?

 

[BonsaiMatt]

Nice thanks Matt. I assumed it would be and like you said, I’ve just never noticed it before, but I’ve not been looking out for it either. Did you take cuttings or anything?

No cuttings, I just removed it. The branch that grew from that node after the chop had the normal 2 buds.

 

[Woocash]

No cuttings, I just removed it. The branch that grew from that node after the chop had the normal 2 buds.

Interesting. I’m curious to know If every bud there after became trifoliate and how that would translate to the structure of a full grown tree.

 

[leatherback]

I have had it on my japanese maples. Feels like it is a branch splt that has not really split. Trimmed it off.

 

[Shibui]

I've seen similar in germinating seedlings. Normally we see 2 cotyledons when the initial shoots emerge but occasionally the seedling has 3. I puts some of these aside one year but they appeared to revert to normal opposite buds when the normal foliage started. I have never seen it on an entire tree.
I guess these aberrations are genetic mistakes. Useful changes allow the plant to breed better and give rise to new species. Changes that don't help the plant do not get passed on so much and usually disappear.

Would this tri bud characteristic be useful in bonsai? Probably not as we usually only want one branch at each node or at most 2 so we can prune the leader back and use one for a branch and the other as a new leader.

 

[Woocash]

I've seen similar in germinating seedlings. Normally we see 2 cotyledons when the initial shoots emerge but occasionally the seedling has 3. I puts some of these aside one year but they appeared to revert to normal opposite buds when the normal foliage started. I have never seen it on an entire tree.
I guess these aberrations are genetic mistakes. Useful changes allow the plant to breed better and give rise to new species. Changes that don't help the plant do not get passed on so much and usually disappear.

Would this tri bud characteristic be useful in bonsai? Probably not as we usually only want one branch at each node or at most 2 so we can prune the leader back and use one for a branch and the other as a new leader.

True, I dare say it’s useless for bonsai really, but I am intrigued as to what a whole tree would look like with a different formation of branches and a denser canopy. I’m curious for curiosity‘s sake really. Well, that and you never know, it could become a new hedging plant go to cultivar and make me rich! If, and it‘s a big if, all the future buds from that stem produce trifoliate branches themselves.