Acer rubrum Totally Explained

Everything about Red Maple totally explained

Acer rubrum (Red Maple, also known as Swamp or Soft Maple), is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. It 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 its leaves, are quite variable in form. At maturity it often attains a height of around 25 metres (82 ft). It is aptly named as its flowers, petioles, twigs and seeds are all red to varying degrees. Among these features, however, it's best known for its brilliant deep scarlet foliage in autumn.
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. Elevation is also not a limiting factor in its range, as it grows well from sea level to about 900 m (3,000 ft). Due to its attractive fall foliage and pleasing form, it's often used as a shade tree for landscapes. It is used commercially on a small scale for maple syrup production as well as for its medium to high quality lumber. It is also the State Tree of Rhode Island.

Description

Though A. rubrum is generally easy to identify, it's highly variable in morphological characteristics. It is a medium to large sized tree, reaching heights of 18 to 27 metres (60 to 90 feet) and exceptionally over 35 metres (115 ft). The diameter can range from 46 to 76 cm (18 to 30 inches), depending on the growing conditions. 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 fruit is a 15 to 25 milimeter (.5 to .75 inch) long double samara with somewhat divergent wings at an angle of 50 to 60 degrees. They are borne on long slender stems and are variable in colour from light brown to reddish. The most interesting of these exceptions is its absence in the Prairie Peninsula. Here the red maple isn't present in the bottom land forests of the Grain Belt, despite the fact it's common in similar habitats and species associations both to the north and south of this area.

Ecology

Red maple seldom lives longer than 150 years, making it short to medium lived. It reaches maturity in 70 to 80 years. Its ability to thrive in a large number of habitats is largely due to its ability to produce roots to suit its site from a young age. In wet locations, red maple seedlings produce short taproots with long and developed lateral roots, while on dry sites, they develop long taproots with significantly shorter laterals. The roots are primarily horizontal, however, forming in the upper 25 cm (10 in) of the ground. Mature trees have woody roots up to 25 meters (80 ft) long. They are very tolerant of flooding, with one study showing that 60 days of flooding caused no leaf damage. At the same time, they're tolerant of drought due to their ability to stop growing under dry conditions by then producing a second growth flush when conditions later improve, even if growth has stopped for 2 weeks.

Cultivation

Red Maple is widely grown as an ornamental tree in parks and large gardens, except where soils are too alkaline or salty. In parts of the Pacific Northwest, it's one of the most common introduced trees. Its popularity in cultivation stems from its vigorous habit, its attractive and early red flowers, and most importantly, its flaming red fall foliage. The tree was introduced into the United Kingdom in 1656 and shortly thereafter entered cultivation. There it's frequently found in many parks and gardens, as well as occasionally in churchyards.
Red Maple is a good choice of a tree for urban areas when there's ample room for its root system. The red maple is excellent at withstanding harsh urban conditions, including tolerance of both dry and wet soils, and a higher tolerance of pollution than sugar maple. Like several other maples, its low root system can be invasive and it makes a poor choice for plantings in narrow strips between a sidewalk and a street. It attracts squirrels, who eat its buds in the early spring, although squirrels prefer the larger buds of the silver maple.

Cultivars

Numerous cultivars have been selected, often for intensity of fall color, with 'October Glory' and 'Red Sunset' among the most popular. Toward its southern limit, 'Fireburst', 'Florida Flame', and 'Gulf Ember' are preferred. Many cultivars of Freeman's Maple are also grown widely. Below is a partial list of cultivars:

'Armstrong' - Columnar to fastigate in shape with silvery bark and modest orange to red fall foliage
'Autumn Blaze' - Rounded oval form with leaves that resemble the silver maple. The fall colour is orange red and persists longer than usual
'Autumn Flame' - A fast grower with exceptional bright red fall color developing early. The leaves are also smaller than the species.
'Autumn Radiance' - Dense oval crown with an orange-red fall colour
'Autumn Spire' - Broad columnar crown; red fall colour; very hardy
'Bowhall' - Conical to upright in form with a yellow-red fall colour
'Burgundy Bell' - Compact rounded uniform shape with long lasting, burgundy fall leaves
'Columnare' - An old cultivar growing to 20 metres (70 ft) with a narrow columnar to pyramidal form with dark green leaves turning orange and deep red in fall
'Gerling' - A compact, slow growing selection, this individual only reaches 10 metres (30 ft) and has orange-red fall foliage
'Northwood' - Branches are at a 45 degree angle to the trunk, forming a rounded oval crown. Though the foliage is deep green in summer, its orange-red fall colour isn't as impressive as other cultivars.
'October Brilliance' - This selection is slow to leaf in spring, but has a tight crown and deep red fall colour
'October Glory' - Has a rounded oval crown with late developing intense red fall foliage. Along with 'Red Sunset', it's the most popular selection due to the dependable fall colour and vigorous growth.
'Red Sunset' - The other very popular choice, this selection does well in heat due to its drought tolerance and has an upright habit. It has very attractive orange-red fall colour and is also a rapid and vigorous grower.
'Scarlet Sentinel' - A columnar to oval selection with 5-lobed leaves resembling the silver maple. The fall colour is yellow-orange to orange-red and the tree is a fast grower.
'Schlesingeri' - A tree with a broad crown and early, long lasting fall colour that a deep red to reddish purple. Growth is also quite rapid.
'Shade King' - This fast growing cultivar has an upright-oval form with deep green summer leaves that turn red to orange in fall.
'V.J. Drake' - This selection is notable due to the fact that the edges of the leaves first turn a deep red before the colour progresses into the center.

Other uses

In the lumber industry A. rubrum is considered a soft maple. The wood is close grained and as such it's 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 A. saccharum and A. nigrum, the black maple, are more commonly used. One study compared the sap and syrup from the Sugar Maple with those of the red maple, as well as those of the Silver Maple, boxelder (A. negundo), and Norway maple (A. platanoides), and all were found to be equal in sweetness, flavor, and quality. However, the buds of red maple and other soft maples emerge much earlier in the spring than the sugar maple, and after sprouting chemical makeup of the sap changes, imparting an undesirable flavor to the syrup. This being the case, red maple can only be tapped for syrup before the buds emerge, making the season very short.Further Information

Get more info on 'Red Maple'.

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