Red maple (Acer rubrum)

Also Known As: Scarlet maple, Soft maple, Swamp maple
Plant Family: Maple (Aceraceae)

Identification Guide: *Print version
Phenophase Field Guide: *Print version

2009 Live Map - View

Did you Know? Because of its brilliant red color in the fall, Red maple is prized as an ornamental. The sap can be used for producing maple syrup, however its sap has only about half of the sugar content as sugar maple. Native Americans used rep maple bark as an analgesic, wash for inflamed eyes and cataracts, and as a remedy for hives and muscular aches.

Identification Hints: There are many native and ornamental maples. Red maples are distinctive in having the red flowers emerge a week or more before the leaves. Silver maple (A. saccharinum) has greenish-yellow flowers that emerge well before leaves and has large 5-lobed leaves with whitish undersides (only 3 main lobes in red maple). The other ornamental maples generally have green undersides of the leaves (as contrasted with white or gray in red maple) and usually do not have red flowers.

Phenological Observations of Interest: First Leaf, All Leaves Unfolded, First Flower, Full Flower, End of Flowering, First Ripe Fruit, 50% Color, 50% Leaf Fall

---

2009 Live Map for Red maple

Below you can view the latest 100 observations that have been reported in 2009 for Red maple (If the map below is empty then there have not been any 2009 observations reported.)

Use the navigation buttons on the left to zoom in/out and pan around. Click on each place marker to get detail information about that observation.

= First Leaf
= All Leaves Unfolded
= First Flower
= Full Flower
= End of Flowering
= First Ripe Fruit
= 50% Color
= 50% Leaf Fall

--Back to Top--

*All downloadable materials require the free Adobe Reader.