Gardeners generally call the Acer genus of trees and shrubs by their Latin name: to the layman they are more often "maples". The distribution of the 132 species extends across Asia, Europe, North Africa and North America. Only one species is found in the southern hemisphere.
In the UK the most common Acer or maple is a the sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), a tree that foresters often describe as a weed species. However, such is the popularity of the ornamental acers they can be found growing in the wild having escaped the confines of gardens and country estates. The examples in this post were photographed at Westonbirt National Arboretum in Gloucestershire.
photo © T. Boughen Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10
