* Map courtesy of WikiMedia.org, it is release under the Creative Commons License.

Acer Rubrum

The Acer Rubrum is commonly known as Red Maple, as well as Scarlet Maple

< Go Back

Growing Regions

Red maple is one of the most widely distributed trees in eastern North America [97].  Its range extends from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois; south through Missouri, eastern Oklahoma, and southern Texas; and east to southern Florida [64].  It is conspicuously absent from the bottomland forests of the Corn Belt in the Prairie Peninsula of the Midwest, the coastal prairies of southern Louisiana and southeastern Texas, and the swamp prairie of the Florida everglades [97].  It is cultivated in Hawaii [102].

     

General Information

Red maple is a member of the maple family Aceraceae [97]. It exhibits great morphological variation and has been included in a highly variable complex of related taxa [79,97]. The currently accepted scientific name of red maple is Acer rubrum L. [97]. Many varieties and forms have been identified, but most are no longer recognized. The following varieties are commonly recognized: Acer rubrum var. drummondii (Hook. & Arn. ex Nutt.) Sarg. Acer rubrum var. trilobum Torr. & Gray ex K. Koch Several forms, differentiated on the basis of various morphological characteristics, are commonly delineated [38,86]: Acer rubrum f. tomentosum (Tausch) Siebert & Voss Acer rubrum f. rubrum Acer rubrum f. pallidum Red maple hybridizes with silver maple (A. saccharinum) under natural conditions [64]. A hybrid product of this cross has been identified: Acer X freemanii E. Murray [64].

Red maple occurs as a dominant or codominant in several eastern
deciduous forests and deciduous swamp communities with black ash
(Fraxinus nigra), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), northern red oak
(Quercus rubra), black oak ( Q. velutinus), aspen (Populus tremuloides),
and elm (Ulmus spp.).  In mesic upland communities of the Southeast, it
grows as an overstory dominant with sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
and water oak (Quercus palustris).  Red maple has been included as an
indicator or dominant in the following community type (cts) and plant
association (pas) classifications:

Location        Classification          Authority

AL              forest cts              Golden 1979
MA              forest pas              Spurr 1956
se MI           deciduous swamp cts     Barnes 1976       
s MI            forest cts              Hammitt & Barnes 1989
NY              forest cts              Glitzenstein & others 1990
s ON            general veg. cts        Smith & others 1975

Much of the information presented here is attributed to:
Tirmenstein, D. A. 1991. Acer rubrum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available at USDA Forest Service.

< Go Back