Acer rubrum

COMMON NAME: Red maple, Scarlet maple, Swamp maple

FAMILY: Maple Family, Aceraceae

GROWTH HABIT: Pyramidal in youth; at maturity, a medium-sized tree (25-40 m tall) with a rounded crown.

FOLIAGE: Leaves opposite, simple, variable in size (6 to 10 cm long) with 3 to 5 triangular bodes, separated by triangular sinus, leaves long, rather than broad; margins twice cut-toothed; lining whitish, often downy petioles long, slender, often red; autumn colors scarlet and crimson. The degree of redness depends on the acidity of the soil--the more acid the soil, the deeper the red. Most trees that turn red in autumn are males; females tend to turn yellow orange.

BUDS: Opposite, blunt, red; flower buds clustered on side spurs.

BARK: Silver-gray, smooth in youth; darker and not furrowed on old trunks.

FLOWERS: Appear before the leaves emerge in the spring. Male flowers orange, female flowers red. Usually flowers of one sex appear on one tree. Are pollinated by both wind and insects.

FRUIT: A samara (winged seed); red-green in color with wings spreading at about 60 degrees. Fruit maturing in the late spring.

CULTIVARS: Armstrong--fastigiate (upright) form. Fall color may be poor. October Glory--Bright-orange to red fall color in late fall

NATURAL HISTORY: Prefers moist habitats, but adapts to a broad range of light and moisture conditions.

NATIVE HABITAT: Newfoundland to Florida; west to Minnesota, Iowa, and Texas.