Red Maple, sprout

Description:

Medium to large sized tree, reaching heights of 18 to 27 meters and exceptionally over 35 meters.The leaves are usually 9 to 11 cm long on a full grown tree. The trunk diameter can range from 46 to 76 cm, depending on the growing conditions. Its spread is about 12 m. A 10-year-old sapling will stand about 6 m tall. In forests, the bark will remain free of branches until some distance up the tree. Individuals grown in the open are shorter and thicker with a more rounded crown. Generally speaking, however, the crown is irregularly ovoid with ascending whip-like curved shoots. The bark is a pale grey and smooth when the individual is young. As the tree grows the bark becomes darker and cracks into slightly raised long plates. The largest known living red maple is located near Armada, Michigan, at a height of 38.1 m and a bole circumference, at breast height, of 4.95 m.