Silver Maple
Acer saccharinum L.

Also known as White Maple or Soft Maple.

Mature Size: 50 to 80 feet in height and 2 to 3 feet in diameter.

Form: Fairly short trunk, often dividing into several sub-trunks, branches sweeping downward then curving gracefully upward.

Habitat: Stream banks, flood plains and lake edges.

Leaves

Opposite, simple, 2½ to 5 inches long, 5 main lobes with deep sinuses, lobe edges coarsely toothed, light green above and silvery white below.

Flowers

Greenish to reddish flowers, in dense clusters, appearing in early spring long before leaves.

Fruit

Paired, winged and shallowly V-shaped, 1½ to 2½ inches long, maturing in late spring, spinning as they fall, able to germinate immediately.

Bark

Light gray and smooth when young; when older, splitting into long thin strips, loose at ends.

Twigs

Shiny, reddish to chestnut-brown, unpleasant odor when crushed; buds reddish brown with large scales; flower buds often in dense clusters.

Values and Uses

The wood is soft, brittle, weak and easily worked. It is used mainly for boxes, furniture and fuel, and is often cut and sold along with red maple. The tree can be tapped for syrup-making, but it yields less sap than other maples. Silver maple's seeds, the largest of any native maple, are an important food source for many birds and small mammals. Squirrels feed heavily on the buds in late winter, and beavers feed on the bark and cut stems. Silver maple is often planted as a landscape ornamental tree.

Did You Know?

Silver maple roots often clog water and sewer lines if the tree is growing near them.

Last modified: Monday, 10-Mar-2008 16:20:56 EDT