Big Leaf Maple

Description:

It has the largest leaves of any maple, typically 15–30 cm across, with five deeply-incised palmate lobes, with the largest running to 61 cm. The flowers are produced in spring in pendulous racemes 10–15 cm long, greenish-yellow with inconspicuous petals. The fruit is a paired winged samara, each seed 1-1.5 cm diameter with a 4–5 cm wing.[2][3] In the more humid parts of its range, as in the Olympic National Park, its bark is covered with epiphytic moss and fern species.

Habitat:

Bigleaf maple can form pure stands on moist soils in proximity to streams, but are generally found within riparian hardwood forests or dispersed, (under or within), relatively open canopies of conifers, mixed evergreens, or oaks (Quercus spp.).[4] In cool and moist temperate mixed woods they are one of the dominant species.

Notes:

This tree (in it's Fall color) is growing in a clearing next to a natural pond along with a Red Alder (Alnus rubra)