Acer L.

Maple

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.

Maple (Acer) · 10/13/2008 Species not yet identified

Maple (Acer) · 8/29/2004 · North Adams, Mass­a­chu­setts Species not yet identified

Some members of Acer:

	Acer campestre	Acer griseum	Acer negundo
Common Name	field maple	paperback maple	boxelder
Plant	Deciduous trees are up to 35' (10 m) tall. Bark is gray to pale brown, vertically fissured in older trees. Some branchlets are corky or “winged.”		Trees are up to 69' (21 m) high and about 26' (8 m) around.
Flowers	Yellowish-green, in clusters 1½-2" (4-6 cm) across of about 10 flowers, appearing from April to May.		Male and female flowers occur on separate trees.
Leaves	Simple, palmate, and opposite, and 1¾-6" (5-16 cm) long. Dark green, uniformly colored, somewhat hairy below when young, with smooth edges. They usually have 5 lobes, but may have 3 or 7. The base of each leaf stem exudes a milky sap when broken off.		Variable: pointed ovals, ovals with two side points similar to poison ivy leaves, or leaves similar to red maple.
Stem			Unevenly branched, with thin, shallowly furrowed gray or light brown bark. Young branches are light green.
Seeds			Pairs of winged samaras.
Fruit	samaras are about 1¼" (3.5 cm) long, each with two wings that are nearly horizontal. Most maples have similar wings, but at an angle to each other.
Range/ Zones	USDA Zones: 5-8	USDA Zones: 4-8	USDA Zones: 2-9
Habitats	It prefers moist soils and cooler climates, or more alkaline soils in warmer conditions.		Virtually all soils, with a preference for moist conditions.
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild
Occurrence

	Acer palmatum	Acer palmatum ‘Beni Otaki’	Acer paxii
Common Name	Japanese maple	Beni Otake Japanese maple	evergreen maple
Plant			An evergreen. 49' (15 m) tall.
Flowers
Leaves			Leaves have three lobes or none at all, 1¾-4" (5-11 cm) × ¾-2" (2-6 cm).
Stem
Seeds			Seeds are winged as with other maples, but purple.
Range/ Zones	USDA Zones: 5-8	USDA Zones: 6-8
Habitats
Type	Wild	Cultivar	Wild
Occurrence

	Acer platanoides	Acer pseudoplatanus	Acer pseudosieboldianum
Common 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
Common 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 shirasawanum ‘Aureum’	Acer spicatum	Acer triflorum
Common Name	golden full moon maple	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: 5-7		USDA Zones: 3a-11
Habitats		Cool mountain forests, at higher elevations
Type	Cultivar	Wild	Wild

(Acer) · 10/23/2009 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 9 × 8" (23 × 20 cm) Species not yet identified

Acer description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 9 Aug 2023.

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