Summary ⁶

Acer rubrum (Red Maple, also known as Swamp, Water or Soft Maple), is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. The U.S. Forest service recognizes it as the most common variety of tree in America. The red maple ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to near Miami, Florida, and southwest to east Texas. Many of its features, especially...

Description ⁷

Red maple is a small to medium sized, native deciduous tree that generally reaches 30 to 90 ft (9 to 27 m) in height. It is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. Leaves: The leaves are opposite, simple, 3 to 5 palmate lobes with toothed (serrated) edges. They are 2 to 4 in (5 to 10 cm) long. In the spring, the leaves are red-tinged. In the summer, they are green above and whitened and sometimes finely hairy underneath. In the fall, they are bright red (hence their name). Twigs are also red with red buds. Flowers: Small reddish to yellowish flowers on slender stalks with petals which appear before leaf budburst. Most trees have both male and female flowers (usually on separate branches) but occasionally trees only produce female flowers. Red maples are one of the first trees to flower in spring, usually March to April. Fruits: The fruit is a double samara (“helicopter”) with wings that angle downward. Seed dispersal is defined as when the fruits turn brown and start falling, which usually occurs before leaves are fully developed, April through July (depending on elevation). Bark: The bark is smooth and light gray on young trees, becoming darker with age and becoming furrowed into long, narrow, scaly ridges on older trunks and branches. Habitat: Red maple is one of the most common trees in the Midwest and East. It is often found in swamps and on moist soils, but can also thrive in drier habitats.

General description ⁸

Range and habitat in illinois ⁹

The native Red Maple is occasional to locally common in southern and NE Illinois, while in other areas of the state it is rare or absent (see Distribution Map). Habitats include floodplain woodlands in river valleys, swamps, sandy flatwoods, sand dunes, upland woodlands and wooded bluffs, acidic gravelly seeps, and forested bogs. Red Maple is typically associated with American Elm, Green Ash, Silver Maple, and other deciduous trees that occur in soggy woodlands, where it is occasionally dominant or codominant. Because of fire suppression, Red Maple has become more common in upland woodlands in some eastern states. It is often cultivated as a landscape tree.

Faunal associations ¹⁰

Red Maple is the preferred host of Itame pustularia (Red Maple Spanworm) and Parallelia bistriaris (Maple Looper Moth); the caterpillars of these moths feed on the foliage. Other moth caterpillars that feed on Red Maple and other maples include Acronicta inclara (Unclear Dagger Moth), Hypena baltimoralis (Baltimore Bomolocha), Cameraria aceriella (Maple Leaf-Blotch Miner), and many other species (see Moth Table). Other small insects suck plant juices from these trees; these species include aphids (Drepanaphis spp. & others), leafhoppers (Eratoneura macra, Erythridula hamata, & others), and such scale insects as Pulvinaria acericola (Maple Leaf Scale), Pulvinaria vitis (Cottony Maple Scale), and Lepidosaphes ulmi (Oystershell Scale). Other insect feeders include the plant bugs Coccobaphes frontifer and Lygocoris vitticollis, larvae of many wood-boring beetles (see Wood-Boring Beetle Table), and the larvae of Dasineura communis (Maple Gouty Vein-Gall Midge). Vertebrate animals use Red Maple and other maples as a source of food, nesting habitat, and cover. Some upland gamebirds (Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey, Bobwhite, etc.) and songbirds (Red-Breasted Nuthatch, Purple Finch, Evening Grosbeak, etc.) eat the seeds and buds, while the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker drills holes into the bark to feed on sap (see Bird Table). Woodpeckers and other insectivorous songbirds often search for the many insects that feed on maples; these insects are especially important in feeding young nestlings. Twigs and sometimes the leaves of Red Maple are browsed by White-Tailed Deer and Elk, primarily during the winter when other foods are scarce; the leaves of this tree are reportedly toxic to cattle and horses. The Cottontail Rabbit sometimes eats the seedlings, while tree squirrels occasionally eat the seeds. The cavities of older trees are used as nesting habitat by some birds (Screech Owl, Pileated Woodpecker, Wood Duck, Northern Flicker, Tree Swallow) and tree squirrels (Fox Squirrel, Gray Squirrel, Red Squirrel); such cavities are also used by various tree-roosting bats.

Damaging agents ¹¹

Red maple is generally considered  very susceptible to defect. Especially on poor sites, red maple  often has poor form and considerable internal defect.  Discoloration and decay advance much faster in red maple than in  sugar maple (43). In northeastern Pennsylvania, average  cull ranged from 13 percent in 30 cm (12 in) diameter red maple  trees to 46 percent in 61 cm (24 in) diameter trees. Only  associated beech and black birch were more defective (26).

    Sprout clumps present some serious problems. More defects  originate from branch stubs on the sprout stems than from the  parent stump (43). Inonotus glomeratus can infect branch  stubs and wounds above the butt in red maple. Nevertheless, a red  maple sprout with only a slightly defective base and small and  well-healed branch stubs has a potential for high future value.  Criteria for selecting red maple sprouts for thinning are (1)  select only stems with small, well-healed branch stubs, (2)  reject sprout clumps with defective bases, and (3) cut all but  one or two of the best dominant stem sprouts (50).

    Many trunk rot fungi and stem diseases attack red maple. Inonotus  glomeratus infects branch stubs and wounds on the stem and is  most important. Second in importance is Oxyporus populinus,  which forms a small, white fruit body that often has moss  growing on top. Phellinus igniarius is another leading  heart rot of red maple. Red maple may also be cankered by species  of Nectria, Eutypella, Hypoxylon, Schizoxylon, Strumella,  and others (48).

    Red maple is susceptible to many leaf diseases, generally of minor  importance. It is seldom or seriously damaged by root diseases,  although Armillana mellea can enter through root or butt  wounds. However, A. mellea kills only trees already  weakened from other causes (18).

    Mechanical injury is a common source of defect in hardwoods, and  red maple is especially sensitive to wounding. Often, large areas  of cambium surrounding the wound will die back. In shade tree  maintenance, wound dressings have not proven effective in  stimulating wound closure or internal compartmentalization of the  damaged area (44). Increment boring causes discoloration  and may lead to decay in red maple. Callus growth, when  established, is reasonably rapid, but an extra year or two often  is needed if cambial dieback has been extensive around the wound  (26). Red maple was rated intermediate with respect to amount of  damage after a severe glaze storm in Pennsylvania. In one study,  major damage was sustained by 41 percent of the black cherry, 16  percent of the red maple, and 5 percent of the hemlock (18).

    Many different insects feed on red maple, but probably none of  them kill healthy trees. They do reduce vigor and growth leaving  the tree more susceptible to attack from fungi. Insect feeding  also may hasten the death of weakened trees. Susceptibility to  insect attack is illustrated by a study in the Piedmont. Of 40  species investigated, red maple had the highest percentage (79  percent) of insect attacks. Among the more important borers  attacking red maple were the gallmaking maple borer (Xylotreehus  aceris), the maple callus borer (Synanthedon acerni),  and the Columbian timber beetle (Corthylus columbianus).  The common scale insects included the cottony maple scale  (Pulvinaria vitis), the maple leaf scale (P  acericola), and the oystershell scale (Lepidosaphes  ulmi). The common leaf feeding moths were the gypsy moth (Lymantria  dispar), the linden looper (Erannis tiliaria), the  elm spanworm (Ennomos subsignaria), and the red maple  spanworm (Itame pustularia). The forest tent caterpillar  (Malacosoma disstria) avoids red maple, however (26).

    Red maple is very sensitive to fire injury, and even large trees  can be killed by a fire of moderate intensity. The fire-killed  trees sprout vigorously, however, and red maple may become a more  important stand component after a fire than before one (26).

    Red maple is a desirable deer food and reproduction may be almost  completely suppressed in areas of excessive deer populations.  Snowshoe hares may also reduce the amount of red maple  reproduction (26).

    If sapsuckers attack red maple, ringshake may develop (42).  Sapsucker damage may also result in mortality Healthy as well  as unhealthy trees are attacked and nearly 40 percent of the  trees attacked may be killed (41).

Broad scale impacts of plant response to fire ¹²

More info for the terms: density, prescribed fire, tree

Red maple is reportedly common on burned lands in the Maritime Provinces
[82], boreal forests on northern Minnesota [12,51,96], and hardwood
forests of the Allegheny Mountains [50].  However, it is rarely observed
on burned sites in Rhode Island [14] and was reported to be greatly
reduced by prescribed fire in northern Indiana woodlands [18].

On the George Washington National Forest, West Virginia, a spring prescribed
fire increased red maple density in a mixed-hardwood forest. Average red maple
seedling densities before fire and in postfire year 5 were 132 and 368
seedlings/acre, respectively; red maple sprout densities were 1,368
sprouts/acre before and 1,395 sprouts/acre 5 years after the fire. See the
Research Paper of Wendel and Smith's [103] study for details on the fire
prescription and fire effects on red maple and 6 other tree species.

The following Research Project Summaries
provide further information on prescribed

fire use and postfire response of plant
community species, including red

maple, that was not available when this
species review was originally

written:

• Early postfire effects of a prescribed fire in the southern Appalachians
  of North Carolina


• Early postfire response of southern Appalachian Table Mountain-pitch
  pine stands to prescribed fires in North Carolina and Virginia


• Effects of experimental burning on understory plants in a temperate
  
  deciduous forest in Ohio


• Effects of surface fires in a mixed red and eastern white pine stand
  
  in Michigan

Cover value ¹³

More info for the term: cover

Maples provide cover for many species of wildlife [78].  The screech
owl, pileated woodpecker, and common flicker nest in cavities in many
species of maple [44].  Cavities in red maples in river floodplain
communities are often well suited for cavity nesters such as the wood
duck [36].  Riparian red maple communities provide autumn roosts for
blackbirds in central Ohio [75].

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Benny Mazur, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/44545509@N00/1414873494
2. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/photos/red_maple2.jpg
3. (c) Mary Keim, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6095/6224095497_d7242a947d.jpg
4. (c) Steven J. Baskauf, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu/baskauf/10492
5. (c) Steven J. Baskauf, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu/baskauf/10495
6. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_rubrum
7. (c) Project BudBurst, National Ecological Observatory Network, Inc., some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/32351021
8. (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (<license>Public Domain</license>), http://eol.org/data_objects/31443793
9. (c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29449507
10. (c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29449508
11. (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/22777968
12. Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24640661
13. Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24640648

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