SAPINDACEAE - - Soapberry Family

Acer rubrum Linnaeus var. rubrum — Eastern Red Maple

Eastern Red Maple (Acer rubrum var. rubrum) is the most common species of maple in the Eastern United States and is in the process of becoming even more common. In some areas it is replacing more valuable hardwoods like oaks and hickories because of fire supression and it's proclivity to grow in just about any habitat, and, of course, it is planted everywhere as an ornamental. It is a medium to tall tree to 92 feet, rarely taller, with a narrow to broadly rounded crown; trunk straight to 5 feet in diameter. The National Champion has a circumference of 269 inches (22.42 feet), a height of 91 feet and a crown spread of 82 feet. Red maple is often planted as an ornamental and shade tree along streets and in yards. The light-brown wood, while not as heavy as sugar maple, is used in furniture, flooring, cabinets, veneer, and for small wooden objects. The specific epithet "rubrum" is Latin for red.

Separating Characteristics

The leaves are broadest near the base, usually 5-lobed, margins singly or doubly toothed, pale and often whitish beneath. The flowers have small red petals (silver maple [A. saccharinum] flowers have no petals). The flowers appear long before the leaves develop. The 2-winged fruits form a V-shaped sinus. The fruits are from .5 to 1.1 inch long where silver maples, the maple most easily confused with red maple, are 1.6 to 3 inches long. Twigs shining red, with minute, pale lenticels, not producing a fetid odor when crushed.

Habitat

A. rubrum var. rubrum grows from sea level to 4,590 feet elevation in a variety of soil and forest types. It grows from the borders of swamps to dry upland sites but does best in the rich soils of ravines and coves. However, this habitat description does not account for the recognition of A. rubrum var. trilobum. We are unsure about the habitat of var. rubrum along it's full range, but in my area (northwest Georgia), the variety that you would find on the flatwoods and low or swampy areas is more likely to be var. trilobum. Now, that's not to say that you will never find var. rubrum in these habitats but it is more common on the ridges (Ridge & Valley Province) in drier locations.

Native Range

Eastern red maple is found from Newfoundland and Quebec south to Florida, westward to Texas, north to Minnesota and Ontario.

The native range of Acer rubrum var. rubrum (Eastern Red Maple)

USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, Various Dates). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.