Red Maple

Description:

The Red Maple or Swamp 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. Many of its features, especially its leaves, are quite variable in form. At maturity it often attains a height of around 15 m (49 ft). It is aptly named as its flowers, petioles, twigs and seeds are all red to varying degrees. Among these features, however, it is best known for its brilliant deep scarlet foliage in autumn.

Habitat:

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. Over most of its range, red maple is adaptable to a very wide range of site conditions, perhaps more so than any other tree in eastern North America. It can be found growing in swamps, on poor dry soils, and most anywhere in between. It grows well from sea level to about 900 m (3,000 ft). This one was photographed at Phinizy Swamp Nature Park near Augusta (Richmond County), GA.

Notes:

In the lumber industry Acer rubrum is considered a soft maple. The wood is close grained and as such it is similar to that of A. saccharum, but its texture is softer, less dense, and has a poorer figure and machining qualities. High grades of wood from the red maple can nonetheless be substituted for hard maple, particularly when it comes to making furniture. As a soft maple, the wood tends to shrink more during the drying process than with the hard maples. Red maple is also used for the production of maple syrup, though the hard maples Acer saccharum (sugar maple) and Acer nigrum (black maple) are more commonly utilized.