General Description | The tree leaves are star shaped and resemble a maple, they are green with some cream spots. The fruit is mace shaped and the bark is corky looking. |
ID Characteristic | Pith is star shaped, fruit is mace shaped. |
Shape | Rounded to loosely pyramidal |
Landscape | Urban sites, avenue trees and parkland trees. Most homeowners do not like it because of the fruit which is quite sharp and difficult to remove from the lawn. |
Propagation | Propagated by grafting onto the species rootstock. |
Cultivation | Full sun in moist to dry soils, do not grow in alkaline soils as the tree will become chlorotic. |
Habitat | Horticultural origin. |
Bark/Stem Description | Grey brown colour, deep furrows, narrow ridges. Can become corky looking after 2 years, bark on new growth is glossy and a red/yellow colour. |
Flower/Leaf Bud Description | The buds are yellow brown 5 cm long. The inner scales enlarge with the growing shoot becoming 1 cm long, green tipped with red. |
Leaf Description | Variegated green and cream, leaves are star shaped often mistaken for maple, 5-7 lobes and are alternate in arrangement. |
Fruit Description | Fruit is mace shaped, sharp looking and is found in clusters. They are difficultt to remove from the turf. |
Colour Description | The colour of the leaves are green and cream bark is grey brown. |
Texture Description | Leaves have a glossy feel to it and bark is very coarse. Fruit is very rough and sharp. |