Native, in England and Wales · Up to 25 m

Field maple

Acer campestre · Sapindaceae

Also called English maple

Field maple is a dense, domed tree, or a clipped shrub in hedges. Its small leaves have rounded lobes, and its paired keys spread almost in a straight line.

Often mistaken for sycamore. How to tell them apart →

Know it by

LeavesSmall leaves with rounded lobes, in facing pairs.

KeysPaired wings that spread flat, in one straight line.

TwigsCorky ridges along older twigs, with buds in pairs.

Then check · BarkPale brown, with close ridges running up the trunk, cracking into small squares with age.

How to identify a field maple

Iona Cowell, CC BY 4.0

Leaves

Field maple leaves are small, with five rounded lobes and a few big, blunt teeth. They grow in facing pairs along the shoot, on long stalks that are often red.

Keys

The winged seeds, called keys, hang in pairs, and their two wings spread almost flat, in one straight line. They are green at first and often turn red before they ripen brown.

Markus Krieger, CC BY 4.0

Twigs

On older twigs, corky ridges often stand out along the sides, split by cracks. The buds sit in facing pairs.

Learn the field maple in TreelyEvery part through the year, and a short round each day until you know it.Get Treely

Every part, in photographs

Field maple leaves: small, five rounded lobes, few blunt teeth — LeavesSmall, five rounded lobes, few blunt teeth

Field maple flowers: small yellowish green clusters, out with the leaves — FlowersSmall yellowish green clusters, out with the leaves

Field maple keys: paired keys with wings set in a line — KeysPaired keys with wings set in a line

Field maple bark: pale brown, close ridges, cracking into small squares — BarkPale brown, close ridges, cracking into small squares

Field maple twigs: often corky wings on wrinkled second-year shoots — TwigsOften corky wings on wrinkled second-year shoots

ShapeDense twiggy dome, almost solid in winter

When to look

JFMAMJJASOND

In leaf

Flowers

Keys

In leaf: April to November · Flowers: April to May · Keys: April to November

Every tree on the calendar · How to identify trees in winter

Where you’ll find it

Hedgerows, woodland edges, scrub and ancient woods, most of all on rich, heavy or chalky soils. It does well on the chalk downs of south-east England, and is planted in parks, gardens and streets.

What it’s mistaken for

Field maple or sycamore?Both are maples with lobed leaves and paired keys.Lobes and their teeth

Field maple or hawthorn?Both are hedgerow shrubs with lobed leaves.Bare shoot

Field maple or spindle?Both are hedgerow shrubs with their leaves in facing pairs.Outline of a leaf

Norway mapleBoth run milky sap from a broken leaf stalk, and both spread their keys nearly flat, so neither of those settles it. Leaf. Field maple: rounded, with a few big blunt teeth. Norway maple: pointed, a few long teeth drawn into hairs.

More maples and horse chestnut

Horse chestnutAesculus hippocastanum

Japanese mapleAcer palmatum

Norway mapleAcer platanoides

SycamoreAcer pseudoplatanus

In the app

There’s more of the field maple in Treely

Every part, through the yearLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed in every season
Its lookalikes, side by sideThe checks that settle it, part by part
A short round each dayUntil you know the field maple on sight, from any side
Name it from a photoA leaf, the bark or a flower, and Treely tells you which tree

App Store Google Play

Free to download.

Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.

Photographs: ubovich (CC0), Iona Cowell (CC BY 4.0), Leon Cross (CC BY 4.0), Markus Krieger (CC BY 4.0), Katie Scholan (CC BY 4.0), Wendy Herniman (CC BY 4.0), David Sandler (CC BY 4.0), Kieran Roy Powell (CC BY 4.0), Shawn O'Donnell (CC BY 4.0), jsilloth (CC0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.