About this tree
Acer platanoides “Globosum”, commonly called the globe Norway maple, is a cultivated form of the Norway maple selected for its compact, very dense, rounded crown and architectural form. First listed in a Belgian nursery catalogue in 1873, it is created by top-grafting onto a common Norway maple trunk, giving it a distinctive lollipop or globe-shaped canopy typically 5–8 m tall and wide, with glossy green, lobed leaves that turn yellow and sometimes orange in autumn. In spring it bears small clusters of yellow-green flowers followed by paired winged samaras (helicopter seeds). Its naturally tidy growth form means little pruning is needed, and it tolerates a wide range of soils, urban pollution, drought, and compaction, making it suitable as a specimen tree in gardens, parks, street plantings, and formal landscapes. Indeed, its resilience, and low-maintenance ornamental form have made it a long-standing choice in European urban planting schemes and smaller garden spaces. Like other Norway maples, Globosum is planted for shade and autumn colour and can attract pollinators, though it tends to produce relatively few viable seeds, reducing invasive spread compared with other cultivars of the species.