Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)
DBH 116.8 (cm) measured on 9/18/2020
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Acer saccharinum, commonly known assilver maple,creek maple,silverleaf maple,soft maple,large maple,water maple,swamp maple,orwhite maple鈥攊s a species ofnative to the eastern and centraland southeastern.It is one of the most common trees in the.
Although the silver maple鈥榮 Latin name is similar, it should not be confused with, the sugar maple. Some of the common names are also applied to other maples, especially.
The silver maple tree is a relatively fast-growing, commonly reaching a height of 15鈥�25m (49鈥�82ft), exceptionally 35m (115ft). Its spread will generally be 11鈥�15m (36鈥�49ft) wide. A 10-year-old sapling will stand about 8m (26ft) tall. It is often found along waterways and in wetlands, leading to the colloquial name "water maple". It is a highly adaptable tree, although it has higher sunlight requirements than other maple trees.
Silver maple leaves
Theareand palmately veined, 8鈥�16cm (31鈦�4鈥�61鈦�4in) long and 6鈥�12cm (21鈦�4鈥�43鈦�4in) broad, with deep angular notches between the five lobes. The 5鈥�12cm (2鈥�43鈦�4in) long, slender stalks of the leaves mean that even a light breeze can produce a striking effect as the downy silver undersides of the leaves are exposed. The autumn color is less pronounced than in many maples, generally ending up a pale yellow, although some specimens can produce a more brilliant yellow and even orange and red colorations. The tree has a tendency to color and drop its leaves slightly earlier in autumn than other maples.
and leaves forming in April
Theare in dense clusters, produced before the leaves in early spring,with thematuring in early summer. The fruit are, each containing a single seed, and winged, in pairs, small (5鈥�10mm or 0.20鈥�0.39in in diameter), the wing about 3鈥�5cm (11鈦�4鈥�2in) long. The fruit are the largest of any native maple. Although the wings provide for some transport by air, the fruit are heavy and are also transported by water. Silver maple and its close cousinare the onlyAcerspecies which produce their fruit crop in spring instead of fall. The seeds of both trees have noand will germinate immediately. Seed production begins at 11 years of age and large crops are produced most years. Like most maples, silver maple can be variably dioecious (separate male or female trees) or monoecious (male and female flowers on the same tree) but dioecious trees are far more common. They can also change genders from year to year.
On mature trunks, the bark is gray and shaggy. On branches and young trunks, the bark is smooth and silvery gray.