Acer (Maple)

Acer

Maple

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Sapindales	Includes citrus; maples, horse-chestnuts, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; mahogany and neem
Family	Sapindaceae	Soapberry family
Genus	Acer	Maples

About plant names...

Acer (rhymes with “acre”) is the genus that includes about 125 species of maple trees. Acer means “sharp” or “bitter,” the former a reference to the sharply pointed leaves. Maple trees inhabit temperate zones throughout the world.

The triple maple leaf is the emblem for Canadian unity.

Species not yet identified · 10/13/2008
≈ 13 × 11' (4.1 × 3.3 m)

Species not yet identified · 8/29/2004 · North Adams, MA

Some members of Acer:

	*Acer negundo*	*Acer palmatum*	*Acer palmatum ‘Beni Otaki’*
Name	Boxelder	Japanese Maple	Beni Otake Japanese Maple
Plant	Trees are up to 69' (21 m) high and about 26' (8 m) around.
Flowers	Male and female flowers occur on separate trees.	Whitish petals, from red or purple buds.
Leaves	Variable: pointed ovals, ovals with two side points similar to poison ivy leaves, or leaves similar to red maple.	5-9 lobes, many colors and varieties. By Abrahami.
Stem	Unevenly branched, with thin, shallowly furrowed gray or light brown bark. Young branches are light green.
Seeds	Pairs of winged samaras.	Pairs of samaras.
Range/ Zones	USDA Zones: 2-9	USDA Zones: 6-8	USDA Zones: 6-8
Habitats	Virtually all soils, with a preference for moist conditions.
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild
Occurrence

	*Acer palmatum subsp. palmatum*	*Acer paxii*	*Acer pensylvanicum*
Name	Japanese Maple	Evergreen Maple	Striped Maple
Plant		An evergreen. 49' (15 m) tall.
Flowers			Yellow, hanging in chains.
Leaves		Leaves have three lobes or none at all, 1¾-4" (5-11 cm) × ¾-2" (2-6 cm).	About 6” across. Rounded bottom edges are unique to this species.
Stem
Seeds		Seeds are winged as with other maples, but purple.	Seed pairs are about 1” long
Range/ Zones	USDA Zones: 6-8
Habitats
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild
Occurrence

	*Acer platanoides*	*Acer pseudoplatanus*	*Acer pseudosieboldianum*
Name	Norway Maple	Sycamore Maple	Korean Maple
Plant		66-115' (20-35 m) high, with a broad crown, oval to rounded in shape.	Trees up to 33' (10 m) high.
Flowers	Flowers are yellow and in a roughly spherical group.	Yellowish green, in May.	Flowers are purple.
Leaves	Sharply tipped, almost hairlike leaf tips, instead of slight rounding as with other maples. Sap from a picked leaf is white. Leaves are bright yellow in the fall.	Five-lobed, with serrated edges, 4-10" (10-25 cm) in size.	Composed of palmlike leaves with 7-13 distinct, sharply lobed leaflets, making them similar in appearance to those of Japanese maple. Brilliantly colored in the fall. Young leaves have a sticky white layer of hairs.
Stem	Bark is gray, with shallow grooves.	Depending on age, may be smooth and gray or covered with large peeling scales that reveal several colors of inner bark.
Seeds		Samaras are 1¼-2" (3.2-5 cm).
Range/ Zones			USDA Zones: 4a-8b
Habitats			Temperate forests of China and Korea
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild
Occurrence

	*Acer rubrum*	*Acer saccharinum*	*Acer saccharum*
Name	Red Maple	Silver Maple	Sugar Maple
Plant	59-89' (18-27 m) high.	49-82' (15-25 m) in height, with a max of 115' (35 m).
Flowers	Flowers red. Flowers very early in the spring.	Small, yellowish green, in tufts along twig ends; not very conspicuous.	Groups of five to ten, yellow-green.
Leaves	Typically with three tips, unlike other maples. Bright red or orange in the fall. Leaves are 3½-4½" (8.9-11 cm) long.	In five sections, with deep notches and narrow lobes, 3-6" (8-16 cm) × 2-4½" (6-12 cm), silvery-white underneath.	Slightly rounded at the tips. Bright red, orange, and yellow in the fall. Sap from a plucked leaf is clear.
Stem	Trunk 18-30" (45-76 cm) around.	Bark gray, smooth when young, becoming shaggy with age.	Bark becomes shaggy on older trees.
Seeds	Clusters of two-winged samaras. Each wing is ½-⅞" (1.5-2.5 cm) long. Wings are at an angle of 50-60°.	Fairly large 1¼" (3.2 cm) winged pairs.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Almost any soil, from swamps to poor dry soils, below 2953' (900 m)	Often found near water, especially along riverbanks
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild
Occurrence	Common	Common

	*Acer spicatum*	*Acer triflorum*
Name	Mountain Maple	Three-flowered Maple
Plant	To 33' (10 m) high, but usually much smaller; a crooked tree or shrub.	Reaches 20-30' (6.1-9.1 m) (max 45' (13 m) in height.
Flowers	Flowers occur on greenish-white “spikes,” about 3" (7.6 cm) long × 1" (2.5 cm) in diameter, pointing upright.	Flowers pink to greenish-yellow, in clusters of 3.
Leaves	Usually 3 lobes, sometimes 5, with small, coarse teeth.	Clusters of 3 leaflets, dark green, relatively narrow, un-maple-like leaves. Each leaf is 2-3" (5-7.6 cm) long and 1-1½" (2.5-3.8 cm) wide. Leaves brilliantly colored in the fall: reds, golds, orange-reds, purples.
Stem	Smooth, sometimes furrowed or flaked	Light- to cinnamon brown, with peeling bark.
Seeds	Samaras have two red wings, hanging in clusters.	Samaras 1-1¼" (2.5-3.2 cm) long, joined at a wide angle.
Range/ Zones		USDA Zones: 3a-11
Habitats	Cool mountain forests, at higher elevations
Type	Wild	Wild

Species not yet identified · 10/23/2009 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, MA
≈ 12 × 8" (31 × 20 cm) ID is tentative or incomplete

Acer description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 Apr 2012.

Range:

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