Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Sapindales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Acer rubrum var. rubrum
FAMILY
Sapindaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Red Maple at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Acer rubrum var. rubrum
FAMILY
Aceraceae
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 115-01-004:
Acer rubrum FAMILY Aceraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Rufacer rubrum
COMMON NAME:
Eastern Red Maple
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm191222_2355_a_rubrum
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_729
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_acst_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0502b_20
February Greenville County SC
Flowers appear before the leaves in dense axillary clusters, per The Native Maples of Georgia (Ware, 2003).
COMPARE
flowers of Maple species
)
JK Marlow jkm0303t_06
March Pickens County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm0403n_02
March Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0403p_28
March Greenville County SC
Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve
The Red Maples provide a hint of red in the early-Spring grey treeline.
)
JK Marlow jkm160311_133
March Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm160311_134
March Greenville County SC
Perianth usually red, 1-3mm long. Anthers 1.5-2mm long, filaments erect, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm220315_6073
March Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm240312_7699
March Greenville County SC
Twigs of all maples have opposite leaf scars, 3 bundle scars & scaled buds. Terminal buds present, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm0204j_20
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow s040404_d
April Greenville County SC
Fruit is the familiar double samara, with wings 3/4" long, per The Native Maples of Georgia (Ware, 2003).
)
JK Marlow jkm0305h_32
May Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm160527_012
May Greenville County SC
Leaves lightened below, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
Keith Bradley kab_acer_rubrum_75327
June Miami-Dade County FL
Krome Bird Refuge
)
JK Marlow jkm230713_4415
July Greenville County SC
Watson-Cooper Heritage Preserve
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_acer_rubrum_rubrum_11
August
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_acer_rubrum_rubrum_5
August
Mature leaves glabrous to densely pubescent (but not white-tomentose) beneath, per Weakley's Flora.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_acer_rubrum_rubrum_8
August
)
JK Marlow jkm211027_4592
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow s041023_b
October Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Leaf base generally cordate (rarely rounded), per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow s041027_a
October Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
)
JK Marlow s041027_c
October Henderson County NC
DuPont State Forest
Leaves (3)5(9)-lobed, the central lobe 4-8cm long, upper 2 lateral lobes 2-5cm, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow s041027_g
October Henderson County NC
DuPont State Forest
Sinuses are V-shaped, varying in size, irregularly serrate, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
COMPARE
leaves of Mapleleaf Viburnum and Maple species
)
JK Marlow jkm0211g_02a
November Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0511c_09
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm201107_8044
November Greenville County SC
Caesars Head State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm201107_8092
November Greenville County SC
Caesars Head State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm211106_4833
November Pickens County SC
Palmetto Trail
)
JK Marlow s011111_mr
November Greenville County SC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Acer rubrum var. rubrum
FAMILY
Sapindaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Acer rubrum var. rubrum
FAMILY
Aceraceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 115-01-004:
Acer rubrum
FAMILY
Aceraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Rufacer rubrum
14
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious, dioecious, or polygamous
Habitat: Upland deciduous forests, up to at least 1500m elevation, moist bottomlands and slopes, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Does not have milky sap
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Winter/Spring
Red (sometimes yellow)
Radially symmetrical
5 sepals
Unisexual or bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Red
Schizocarp composed of two 1-seeded samaras
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p042
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p272
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p116
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p108
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p262
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p038
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p017
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p057
- The Sibley Guide to Trees (Sibley, 2009) p344
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p088
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p121
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p14
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p222
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p048
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