Red Maple

Acer rubrum

Aceraceae (Maple Family)

▲ mature tree in summer

▲▼ fall colors

▲▼ fall colors

▲▼ fall colors

▲▼  flowers

▲▼ leaves 

▲ moderate damage after severe ice storm in Springfield, MO in 2007

Location on campus:  in lawn on southeast side of Craig Hall, plus many other locations

Acer rubrum:  Red Maple

• Leaves deciduous, simple, opposite, palmately 3-5 lobed; dark green and glossy above, glaucous underneath; 2-5” long and wide
• Leaves often have bright red, orange or yellow (or mixture) for fall color—
• One of best trees for fall color
• Fall color will vary with planting location, age and stress level of tree, regardless of cultivar color tendencies
• Many cultivars selected based on fall color—is only species with so many cultivars just based on fall color
  • Cultivars may be grafted, rooted cuttings or tissue cultured
  • Best to avoid grafted plants, as graft incompatibilities later on will shorten what should be a moderately long life for tree
  • Seedling trees may also have great color—select from nurseries in fall to get color desired (with understanding that new planting location may alter color somewhat)
    • Generally, if has yellow color, will not be red
    • Red and orange colors may be more or less pronounced at planting site
• Stems green to reddish-brown when young, gray-brown when older—no bad odor if crushed
• Bark is smooth and light gray when young, dark-gray and scaly with age
• Grows 40-60 feet tall with upright oval crown
• Prefers full sun to part-shade; generally prefers moist, well-drained soils, but very soil adaptable; are many natural ecotypes for almost every soil situation (dry, compacted, wet, clay, rocky, fertile, infertile); fast growth rate
• Native to Missouri; most widely planted tree species in eastern U.S.
• Is one of the “soft maples,” along with silver maple (based on wood strength)
• Similar to Acer saccharinum (Silver Maple)  - except Silver Maple leaves are almost always 5-7 lobed, while Red Maple leaves often predominantly three-lobed, with some clones showing five-lobed leaves
• Acer x freemanii:  Freeman Maple, Autumn Blaze maple
  • A hybrid between red maple and silver maple
  • Has fast growth rate, but slightly harder wood than silver maple
  • Leaf appearance is more deeply lobed than red maple, and not as deeply lobed as silver maple
  • Has brilliant red-orange fall color (‘Autumn Blaze’ cultivar) that is fairly uniform at various sites