Acer saccharinum

COMMON NAME: Soft, White, River, Water, Creek, or Swamp Maple

FAMILY: Maple Family; Aceraceae

GROWTH HABIT: Large, fast growing tree, 25-35 m tall. Irregular crown.

FOLIAGE: Nearly circular in outline, 8-15 cm long and about as wide, the 5 lobes separated by narrow, deep sinuses, divided beyond the middle.Thin, bright pale green above, silvery white below, with 5 prominent nerves. In the fall, leaves lack the orange and scarlet tints; it turns a yellow.

BUDS: Thick bright-red outer scales, the inner becoming yellow or pale green and about 1 inch long at the time of opening.

BARK: Bark of young trees smooth and gray. Older trunks reddish brown, furrowed and thinly scaly.

FLOWERS: Greenish-yellow, opening before the leaves in short axillary clusters or on spur-like shoots of the previous year, the male and female in separate clusters on the same or on different trees.

FRUIT: The thin wings on the paired samaras are sometimes 3/4 inch broad and meshy-veined and pale brown.

NATURAL HISTORY: Grows well in river bands and wet bottom lands; less common on the Coastal Plain.