Three-flower maple is a deciduous tree in the maple family (Sapindaceae) that is native to hills of northeastern China and Korea. The common name is due to the flowers appearing in groups of three. Genus name is Latin for maple This tree will grow 25-30 feet tall and wide with an attractive rounded crown. It can also be trained as a shrub as branches are low to the ground. It does best in well-drained acidic moist soils in full sun to partial shade. It has moderate salt tolerance but is intolerant of alkaline soils, soil compaction, drought and wet soil. In spring, greenish-yellow flowers appear followed by samaras in the fall. The leaves have excellent fall colors of yellow/red/purple. The exfoliating bark adds additional appeal. Received the Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society. This tree makes a good shade tree for a smaller yard, as a specimen or in a woodland and winter garden. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious problems. Verticillium wilt can occur. See potential insect and disease problem fact sheets to the left. The Clemson Cooperative Extension Home and Garden Information Center has a factsheet on common maple diseases and insect pests. More information on Acer .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
24-60 feet
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 25 ft. 0 in. - 30 ft. 0 in. | Width: 25 ft. 0 in. - 30 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Canopy layer
2 - Understory (15-40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Dense; Erect; Rounded; Spreading
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Gold/Yellow; Green; Orange; Red/Burgundy
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Elliptical
Leaf margin
Entire; Serrate; Sinuate
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Dark green somewhat fuzzy trifoliate leaf 3" long 1" wide with irregularly toothed margins. Brilliant orange, scarlet, purple and gold fall color in October. One of the few trees to develop good fall color in shade.
Pink to a greenish yellow cluster of 3 flowers in April.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit type
Samara
Fruit size
< 1 inch long
Fruit detail
Samaras 1" long joined at a wide angle with a fat nutlet persists into winter
Bark color
Dark Brown; Light Brown; Light Gray; Orange; Red/Burgundy
Bark detail
This plant has warm, ashy light brown bark, peeling in long strips bark, to reveal cinnamon orange-brown (or cinnamon red) inner bark even at an early age.
Stem color
Brown/Copper; Gold/Yellow; Green
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Asia
Distribution
Manchuria China, North and South Korea
Wildlife value
Members of the genus Acer support Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae which have one brood per season and appear from April-October in the south. Adult Imperial Moths do not feed.