Red Maple
Acer rubrum · Sapindaceae · 참꽃단풍
How to spot it
The leaf usually has 3 to 5 main lobes, and the leaf stalks, buds and flowers are reddish.
Look
- Leaves
- Palmately veined leaves with 3 to 5 main lobes.
- Flowers
- Before the leaves emerge, small red flowers open in short-stalked drooping clusters.
- Fruit
- Paired samaras form a V shape; they are red, pink or yellow and turn yellowish brown to brown when ripe.
- Bark
- Young bark is smooth and light gray; with age it breaks into plates.
Where it grows
- Native to
- Eastern North America. From Newfoundland to Florida, reaching west to Minnesota, Oklahoma and Texas.
- Ecology
- Prefers moist, slightly acidic soil, and tolerates a range of soils and city conditions. The flowers are an early food source for bees, and birds eat the seeds.
Stories
Sources
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- 국립수목원 국가표준재배식물목록(개정)
- 미국 로드아일랜드 주정부 공식 사이트(RI.gov) Facts & Figures
- USDA NRCS Plant Guide 'RED MAPLE Acer rubrum L.' (National Plant Data Center & Biota of North America Program)
- 펜실베이니아주립대 연구성과 DB — Abrams, M. D. 'The red maple paradox: What explains the widespread expansion of red maple in eastern forests?' BioScience 48(5):355-364 (1998)