Habitat: Swamps, low woods, upland slopes, bluff tops.
Range: Newfoundland across to Ontario, south to eastern Texas, east to Florida.
Distinguishing Features: The Red Maple is characterized by its white lower leaf surfaces and its shallowly lobed leaves. The similar Silver Maple has very deeply lobed leaves.
SWAMP RED MAPLE
rubrum L. var. drummondii (H. & A.) Sarg.
Growth Form: Medium tree up to 40 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 1 foot; crown narrow.
Bark: Gray and smooth when young, becoming darker and scaly.
Twigs: Slender, white-hairy when young, usually becoming smooth or nearly so, reddish; leaf scars opposite, U-shaped, with 3-7 bundle traces.
Buds: Rounded, reddish, hairy, up to ¼ inch long.
Leaves: Opposite, simple; blades up to 6 inches long, nearly as broad, palmately 3- to 5-lobed, the edges of the leaves toothed, green and somewhat hairy on the upper surface, densely white-hairy on the lower surface; leafstalks stout, densely hairy, up to 4 inches long.