Red Maple. Soft Maple
Acer rubrum L.
HABIT.—A medium-sized tree 40-50 feet high, occasionally in swamps 60-75 feet; trunk 1-3 feet in diameter; upright branches, which form a low, rather narrow, rounded crown.
LEAVES.—Opposite, simple, 3-4 inches long and nearly as broad; 3-5-lobed by broad, acute sinuses, the lobes irregularly doubly serrate or toothed; glabrous, green above, whitish and generally glabrous beneath, turning bright scarlet in autumn; petioles long, slender.
FLOWERS.—March-April, before the leaves; polygamo-monoecious or dioecious; in few-flowered fascicles on shoots of the previous year, the pistillate red, the staminate orange; sepals 4-5; petals 4-5; stamens 5-8; ovary smooth.
FRUIT.—May-June, germinating immediately after reaching the ground; samaras small, on drooping pedicels 2-4 inches long; wings about 1 inch long, diverging at about a right angle.
WINTER-BUDS.—Dark red, blunt; terminal bud about 1/8 inch long, with bud-scales rounded at the apex; flower-buds clustered on side spurs.
BARK.—Twigs bright red, lustrous, becoming smooth and light gray on the branches; old trunks dark gray, ridged, separating into plate-like scales.
WOOD.—Heavy, close-grained, not strong, light brown, with thick, lighter colored sapwood.
DISTRIBUTION.—Throughout the entire state.