Black Maple

Acer nigrum

Aceraceae (Maple Family)

▲ young tree at a golf course in Ft. Wayne, IN

▲ large tree in Springfield, MO

▲▼ leaves, with lower photo showing leaf-like stipules at base of leaf

▲ leaves showing characteristic "drooping" of  side lobes

▲ fruit

Location near Missouri State University campus:  large tree at southwest corner of Kings St. and Delmar

Acer nigrum:  Black Maple

• Leaves similar, but more pubescent, generally 3-lobed, and often with prominent stipules at the base of petiole; sides of leaves tend to droop downward
• Buds more pubescent and more rounded than sugar maple buds
• More lenticels on twigs, twigs more yellowish than sugar maple
• Fall color is usually yellow or yellow-orange; usually not deep red-oranges of sugar maple
• Black maples are similar to Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple) and Acer platanoides (Norway Maple)