Red Maple
Acer
rubrum
Copyright, Mark Brand, UConn Plant
Database
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Red Maple is one of the
most common trees in our area. It is usually a medium-sized
tree, but it can grow up to 90 feet. This tree can be found
just about anywhere, including forests,
stream banks, and fields. It is a pioneer
tree, which means it is one of the first to take over a
field. It is also often an understory
tree, growing beneath larger trees.
Red Maple leaves are
three-lobed, with small teeth.
They are dull green on top, and pale green or whitish on the
bottom. Leaves grow up to four inches long.
Red Maple flowers are
reddish-orange, and droop in clusters.
Fruits are called
samaras.
Samaras have a red, pink, or yellow "wing." They come in
pairs.
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Copyright, Mark Brand,
UConn Plant Database
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Copyright, Mark Brand,
UConn Plant Database
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Copyright, James
Manhart
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The bark
of Red Maple is thin, smooth, and gray when it is young.
Older Red Maples have bark that is dark gray, rough, and
scaly.
Red Maples are
deciduous
trees, so they lose their leaves in the Fall. Before they
drop, leaves turn orange or red.
In the Spring,
twigs
are very shiny red.
Some of the other trees
Red Maples grow with include: Sweetgum, Eastern White Pine,
American Elm, Black Oak, Black Cherry, American Beech,
Virginia Pine, Yellow Poplar, Silver Maple, and Loblolly
Pine.
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Copyright, Erv Evans, NC
State University
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Copyright, Mark Brand,
UConn Plant Database
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Some smaller plants that
grow under Red Maples, include Bracken Fern, violets,
Jewelweed, horsetails, and Sarsparilla, as well as many
mosses.
Many fungi
parasite
on maple trees, such as Honey Mushrooms and Mossy Maple
Polypore.
Other fungi help Red
Maple trees by sharing nutrients.
Young Red Maple trees are
one of the favorite foods of White-tailed Deer. Seeds are
eaten by squirrels and birds.
Red Maple
pollen
is spread by wind and insects. Bees and butterflies, such as
Tiger Swallowtails and Mourning Cloaks visit Red Maple
flowers.
European Gypsy moths will
eat Red Maple leaves, but not as much as other trees. The
Gypsy Moths actually help Red Maples, because they destroy
other trees that compete
with them, such as Black Oaks. So do Eastern Tent
Caterpillars, which don't bother Red Maples at all.
Caterpillars
of some other moths do eat Red Maple leaves.
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Other pests
of Red Maple trees include leaf hoppers, scale insects, and
beetles.
After fungi weaken the
trunk
of this tree, woodpeckers dig holes to live in. Screech
Owls, Wood Ducks, Carolina Chickadees, Black Rat Snakes, and
other cavity-dwellers
will live in these holes also.
Many birds build nests in
Red Maples, and they are a favorite of
blackbirds.
Black Cherry trees have
an interesting relationship with Red Maples, because they
not only grow together, but they compete with each other.
Black Cherries usually win the battle of competition,
because they release chemicals which stunt the growth of Red
Maples. This means they are "allelopathic."
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