red maple
Family
AceraceaeScientific Name
Acer rubrum var. trilobumOther Common Names:
Carolina red maple
Synonyms (former Scientific Names):
Acer carolinianum
Acer rubrum var. tridens
Rufacer carolinianum
Habit
Has a pyramidal shape at a young age and escalating branches with an irregular spherical crown. The red maple grows between 40-70 feet tall. Seedlings of this ornamental tree can be particularly troublesome in the home lawn.
Leaves
Leaves are bright yellow to orange to red in the fall. Leaf blades have medium green upper sides and light green to silvery undersides in the summer. Blades are about 3in long and 3in wide and are often triangular shape.
Identifying Characteristics
Ability to grow successfully on sites with very different moisture availability is due in part to the early development of roots specifically adapted to the conditions at a particular site.
Flower Seed Head
Noticeable long before the foliage emerges. They have small fragrant red flowers in dense clusters in late winter to early spring.
Seed Fruit
Seed is a paired, red, pink, or yellow, winged samara, about long. Fruits are winged with a single seed at the base.
Where Found
Grows in low, rich woods, along the margins of lakes, marshes, and swamps, also in wet thickets, floodplains and stream terraces.
Growth Habit
woody bush or tree
Thorns or Spines
not present
Approximate Flower Diameter
pencil
Dominant Flower Color
red
Flower Symmetry
not symmetrical
Leaf Hairs
Varies:
has hairs,
no hairs
Leaf Shape
round
Leaf Arrangement
opposite
Leaf Margin
serrated
Leaf Structure
simple
Leaf Stalk
shorter than leaf
Stem Hairs
no hairs
Stem Cross Section
round or oval
Milky Sap
not present
Life Cycle
perennial
Ochrea
not present
Plant Type
Tree