Hello friends of flowers and plants. Today I will talk about the Acer granatense, also known as Arce of Spain or Arce of Granada. This beautiful tree is in danger of extinction. It is very appreciated in ornamentation for the beauty of its foliage and its thick shade.

Acer granatense

This tree is endemic to North Africa (rifeña mountain range of Morocco), island of Mallorca and southeast of the Iberian Peninsula.
It is a low bush, with open branches, with smooth and grayish bark. The leaves of the Maple Granatense are opposite and clapped, the petiole is long and reddish. Its flowers are yellowish, arranged in hanging corimbos.

Its fruits ripen in autumn, and are formed by two joined nutlets (dismara). It flowers in March and April (northern hemisphere), coinciding with the output of the leaves. It develops on calcareous soils and places with sufficient humidity and freshness.

Acer granatense can live up to 100 years.

Causes that lead to the disappearance of Acer granatense:

At present, with the intensification of the drought, some of the populations of Murcia (Spanish autonomous community) have only 5 or 10 copies. This is an excessively low quantity that can lead to its genetic infeasibility.

The situation of the Granatense maple is also critical in the Sierra de Mojantes (Caravaca), where there are very few specimens. The 1994 Moratalla fire affected the population of the Sierra de la Muela, one of the best preserved. Except in a few places, regeneration by seeds is not observed. The accessible specimens are consumed by mountain and domestic goats.

During the last years, there has been a demand for the native plant for nurseries. For this reason there is an unregulated collection of fruits, which exacerbates the lack of regeneration.

In order to protect these trees some specimens are classified as monumental trees, the most emblematic is in the Barranco de Hondares.

If you want to know more about endangered plants, leave us your comment. Without fail we will make an article with the plant you request.

Even though this species is a tree, it has beautiful flowers that we must take care of, and keep them in a little bit of our heart. ?

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