Unique Features: The Hot Wings Maple is a cultivated variety of Tatarian maple, native to southern Asia. It was developed and introduced by Fort Collins Wholesale Nursery and is hardy for the Front Range. It grows moderately slow, into a tidy rounded ornamental tree.  The pale-yellow spring flowers are insignificant but can interest early pollinators. The dark green leaves are rounded with serrated edges, different from most other maple leaves. Toward the end of June to early July it develops samaras, double winged seed capsules. They are deep red, which shows well against the dark green foliage, and give the look of flower clusters when other trees are having the summer ‘blahs’.  The samaras can hold the dark red color for 4-8 weeks before fading. The Hot Wings is well adapted to high pH soil and xeric conditions once established. It is grown both as a single or multi stemmed tree.