Acer davidii - Maple

Acer davidii, also known as Père David's maple, is part of the snake bark maples, due to the beauty of their bark which resembles the skin of these reptiles with their colours and patterns. This one is a moderately growing tree, with smooth and mottled bark, fully striped with green and white. With its unique and visible bark in winter, its elegant habit, and its red fruits that match its beautiful autumn foliage, Père David's maple deserves a prime location, allowing it to be admired in all seasons.

Originating from China, Acer Davidii or Acer laxiflorum ningpoense, also known as Père David's maple or snake bark maple, is a deciduous tree from the Sapindaceae family, native to China. Its growth is rather fast when young, then slows down over time. This small tree will reach an average height of 6.5 m (21.3 ft) and a width of 3.5 m (11.5 ft), sometimes more depending on the richness of the soil and climate. It has an initially upright habit, widening with age. Its rounded to spreading crown is supported by thin and fragile branches, slightly drooping. The trunk, single or multiple, is short, branching near the base. It is covered with smooth bark, whose pattern resembles that of a snake's skin during the moulting phase. Its colour is a slightly greyish-green, marbled and longitudinally striped with more or less greyish-white to very pale green. The leaves are opposite on the branches, measuring about 14 cm to 15 cm (5.5 in to 5.9 in) in length and 7 cm (2.8 in) in width, with 3 to 9 ovate and dentate leaflets. They are red when they bud, then become light green, and finally shiny dark green with a lighter reverse at maturity before turning yellow, orange, and red in autumn before falling. In June, an insignificant flowering gives way to winged fruits, 3 cm to 5 cm (1.2 in to 2 in) long, red in colour, and gathered in decorative pendulous clusters.

Acer davidii prefers partial shade and non-calcareous and moist soils. It suits medium to large gardens, highlighted in the centre of a large ericaceous soil bed surrounded by understated perennials that will not overshadow its unique personality, such as hostas, ferns, Japanese grasses (Hakonechloa), or Carex for example.