My interested themes on maple distribution

a). When seeing photos of world maples I sometimes find the similarity between species A from A' region and species B from B' region. So, I would like to refer to the questions.

1. Examples of similar species from different regions

Series Caudata
ssp. caudatum from China to Himalayas
ssp. ukurunduense from Northeast China to Japan
Acer spicatum from North America

Series Palmata
Acer palmatum, Acer japonicum etc. from Japan
Acer circinatum from N.America

Section Rubra
Acer rubrum from N.America
Acer pycnanthum from Japan

Section Macrantha
Aacer rufinerve from Japan
Acer pencylvanicum from N.America

Section Platanoidea
Acer miyabei from Japan
Acer campestre from Europe

Examples mentioned above associate us with the origin of maples and history of the earth, the process up to the present shapes.

2. Examples of different species living together within the same region

This means that "various species live together within each other's range without hybridizing". One of the reasons is regarded as the fact that "the timing of flowering is different between these species" and "apparently are incapable of exchanging genes under natural conditions". In the document No.4 are mentioned the following samples.

Europe
Acer pseudoplatanus and Acer platanoides

N.E.America
Acer saccharum and Acer rubrum

S. Kyushu, Japan
Acer micranthum, A.mono, A.rufinerve, A.sieboldianum

Mt.Kuju, Japan
Acer diabolicum, A.nipponicum, A.carpinifolium

Central Japan
Acer japonicum, A.shirasawanum, A.mono, A.palmatum
A.argutum
, A.crataegigolium

 

Of course, there is a possibility of causing the hybrid species between the closely related species in the natural species. Especially in Europe and America a lot of hybrid species and cultivated species have been made by the artificial hybridization.

b). According to the document No.4, the following description can be seen as a character of maple distribution, namely "widely distributed but nowhere abundant".

c). The fact that almost all species of maples are distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. On other plants I don't know at all. According to the document No.4, " in Indonesia they cross the equator on Java and some of the lesser Sunda Islands". Acer laurinum Hasskarl(1843) is found in the mountains, 1000m-2000m above sea level. Leaves of this species are ever green and oblong in shape. This fact is also interesting to me.

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