An evergreen small tree or shrub of bushy, rounded shape; all its parts free from down or hairs. Leaves of hard, leathery texture, varying in shape from ovate to distinctly three-lobed and obovate, entire on old plants, frequently toothed on young or vigorous ones; 1 to 3 in. long and wide; strongly three-veined; stalk 1⁄2 to 2 in. long. Flowers in small clusters terminating short side shoots. Wings of fruit 3⁄8 in. wide, diverging at an angle of about 60° and, including the globose nut, about 1 in. long.
Native of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Cyprus, originally described in 1856. In its hard leathery leaves it suggests A. orientale, but that species is not so strictly evergreen and its leaves are smaller. It is quite hardy in this country and very distinct as one of the very few evergreen maples that can be grown outdoors.