ACER RUBRUM
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Photo credit: Red Maple |
Britton & Brown |
| Botanical name: | Acer rubrum |
| Common name: | red maple |
| Group: | dicot |
| Family: | Aceraceae |
| Growth type: | tree |
| Duration: | perennial, deciduous |
| Origin: | native |
| Plant height: | 35 - 68’ at maturity |
| Foliage: | leaves are alternate |
| Flower: | yellow to red flowers |
| Flowering time: | March, first tree to bloom |
| Habitat: | hardwood swamp, but can adapt to well-drained soils as well |
| Range in New Jersey: | statewide - only native maple commonly encountered in southern NJ |
| Heritage ranking, if any: | n/a |
| Distribution: |  |
| Misc. | One of the most common swamp hardwoods and the only species of maple commonly encountered in South Jersey. Distinguished from other maples by its small-lobed leaves, the lobes angled. The first tree to bloom, the tiny yellow to red flowers appear in March. Is used as a lumber product. Seeds are eaten by squirrels and birds. However it is not preferred by deer so in heavily populated deer areas the species may outcompete other species. |
| Credit: USDA United States Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service data base |
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