University of Georgia horticulturist and tree guru Michael Dirr describes Acer griseum as a true “specimen tree”, and with good reason. The paperbark maple’s compact ultimate size (to 12m), cold-hardiness (USDA Zone 5), pest and disease resistance and broad garden adaptability make it ideal for residential landscapes, but the peeling, cinnamon-red bark and neat trifoliate leaves are the primary attractions. The bark imparts warm, rich tones and attractive shadows (especially with low-in-the-sky winter sun) and its waxy, blue-backed, dark green leaves practically ignite into orange and red shades in autumn. It is no wonder that Acer griseum has a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit, is a Great Plant Pick (of the Pacific Northwest and is a Missouri Botanical Garden's Plant of Merit.

Botany resource link: Learn about the botanical oddity Welwitschia mirabilis via Alice Notten of Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in South Africa (more photographs).