RED MAPLE
Acer rubrum, L.
Form.—Height 60-100 feet, diameter 1-3½ feet; trunk usually more or less inclined or twisted; crown rather narrow and rounded.
Leaves.—Opposite, simple, 3-4 inches long, about as broad, lobes 3-5, coarsely toothed, green and glabrous above, whitish beneath.
Flowers.—March-April; polygamo-monoecious, or dioecious; in few-flowered clusters on shoots of the previous year; petals linear-oblong, red or orange.
Fruit.—May-June; paired samaras, small, smooth, wings about 1 inch long on long, drooping pedicels.
Bark.—Thick, roughened by shaggy ridges, gray. The smooth bark of young trees and limbs of large trees are silvery gray.
Wood.—Heavy, medium soft, close-grained, light brown, with whitish sapwood.
Range.—Southern Canada to Florida and Texas.
Distribution in West Virginia.—Occurs in all parts of the State. Not common east of the Alleghanies.