They are typically 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long and wide with three to five palmate lobes with a serrated margin. As with all North American maple trees, they are deciduous and arranged oppositely on the twig. The leaves of the red maple offer the easiest way to distinguish it from its relatives. Leaves on a branchlet from a specimen in northern Florida The largest known living red maple is located near Armada, Michigan, at a height of 38.1 m (125 ft) and a bole circumference, at breast height, of 4.95 m (16 ft 3 in). As the tree grows the bark becomes darker and cracks into slightly raised long plates. The bark is a pale grey and smooth when the individual is young. Generally the crown is irregularly ovoid with ascending whip-like curved shoots. Trees on poorer sites often become malformed and scraggly.
#Red maple acer rubrum free#
The trunk remains free of branches until some distance up the tree on forest grown trees, while individuals grown in the open are shorter and thicker with a more rounded crown. The trunk diameter often ranges from 46 to 88 cm (18 to 35 in) depending on the growing conditions, however, open-grown trees can attain diameters of up to 153 cm (60 in). The leaves are usually 9 to 11 cm ( 3 + 1⁄ 2 to 4 + 1⁄ 4 in) long on a full-grown tree. It is a medium to large sized tree, reaching heights of 27 to 38 m (90 to 120 ft) and exceptionally over 41 m (135 ft) in the southern Appalachians where conditions favor its growth. rubrum is sometimes easy to identify, it is highly changeable in morphological characteristics. Typical fall foliage in red maple country By removing red maple from a young forest recovering from disturbance, the natural cycle of forest regeneration is altered, changing the diversity of the forest for centuries to come. In a mature or old-growth northern hardwood forest, red maple only has a sparse presence, while shade-tolerant trees such as sugar maples, beeches, and hemlocks thrive. The red maple can be considered weedy or even invasive in young, highly disturbed forests, especially frequently logged forests. It is also the state tree of Rhode Island. It is used commercially on a small scale for maple syrup production and for its medium to high quality lumber. Due to its attractive fall foliage and pleasing form, it is often used as a shade tree for landscapes. It grows well from sea level to about 900 m (3,000 ft). It can be found growing in swamps, on poor, dry soils, and almost anywhere in between. Over most of its range, red maple is adaptable to a very wide range of site conditions, perhaps more so than any other tree in eastern North America. Among these features, however, it is best known for its brilliant deep scarlet foliage in autumn. Its flowers, petioles, twigs, and seeds are all red to varying degrees. At maturity, it often attains a height around 30 m (100 ft). Many of its features, especially its leaves, are quite variable in form. The red maple ranges from southeastern Manitoba around the Lake of the Woods on the border with Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to Florida, and southwest to East Texas.
Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant native tree in eastern North America. ex Nutt.) SmallĪcer rubrum, the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. Acer microphyllum Pax 1886 not Opiz 1824.Acer hypoleucum K.Koch 1869 not Hayata 1913.
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