Side by side
Guelder rose or field maple? How to tell them apart
Viburnum opulus · Acer campestre
How to tell them apart – guelder rose: shrub with three-lobed, maple-like leaves, flat white flower heads and glossy red berries; field maple: a small tree with milky sap and winged fruits.
Photo: Original uploader was Wouter Hagens at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Guelder rose Viburnum opulus
How do you recognise them?
- Guelder rose
- Shrub with three-lobed, maple-like leaves, flat white flower heads and glossy red berries.
- Field maple
- Small maple with small leaves with rounded lobes; milky sap in the leaf stalk; wings in a straight line.
- Compared with guelder rose: a small tree with milky sap and winged fruits.
| Guelder rose | Field maple | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves | Opposite, 3–5-lobed, coarsely toothed, 5–10 cm; small glands on the leaf stalk. Red autumn colour. | Opposite, small (5–10 cm), with 3–5 rounded lobes without pointed teeth. The leaf stalk contains milky sap. |
| Flowering | Flat heads of small fertile flowers, ringed by large white outer flowers (May–June) (May–June). | May |
| Fruit | Glossy red, translucent berries in clusters; poisonous raw. | Winged fruits whose wings spread out horizontally, in a single line. |
| Bark | Greyish-brown and smooth. | Light brown and finely fissured; young twigs often have corky ridges. |
| Shape and height | Shrub, 2–4 m | Broadleaf tree, 10–20 m, often in hedges |
| Site | Sun or partial shade, any garden soil, moist to wet | Sun or partial shade, any garden soil, normal |
| Native to Belgium | Yes | Yes |
| Good for bees, butterflies and birds | Yes, for bees and birds | Yes, for bees and butterflies |
| Poisonous to people and pets | Not known to be poisonous | Not known to be poisonous |
| Pruning months | June–July | June–October |
What does it mean for your garden?
- Both are native and good for wildlife: choose what suits your soil, your light and the space you have.
- Field maple grows 10–20 m tall: too big for an ordinary garden, but fine in a large garden, a park or a meadow.
Read on
- Plant profile: Guelder rose
- Plant profile: Field maple
- Guelder rose: when and how to prune
- Field maple: when and how to prune
- Identification key
Also looks like
- Laurustinus or guelder rose
- Ninebark or guelder rose
- Guelder rose or Japanese snowball
- Guelder rose or red-berried elder
- Guelder rose or wayfaring-tree
- Wild service tree or field maple
- Field elm or field maple
- Norway maple or field maple
Identify by feature
This comparison is compiled from the Bladwijzer species pages.