Plant Family: Sapindaceae
Growth Form: Small to medium-sized tree, 6 to 12 meters tall.
Leaves / Buds: Opposite, simple, toothed, with 3 to 5 pointed lobes that are separated by V-shaped sinuses, green above, lighter beneath, 6 – 12 cm across, turning red or yellow in autumn; winter buds red.
Bark: Light to dark gray, smooth on younger trees, furrowed to blocky on older trees.
Flowers: Small, red, lacking petals; appearing in early spring before the leaves.
Fruits: Paired samaras that are reddish or greenish; May to June.
Habitat: Does best in moist to swampy soils, where it may grow quite rapidly, tolerates periods of flooding; but also found in drier habitats.
Range: Red Maple is one of the most widespread trees in eastern North America, ranging from southern Canada and New England south to Florida and west to the Mississippi River watershed.
Similar Species: Sugar Maple has rounded sinuses separating the leaf lobes.
Comments: Large trees are sometimes tapped for maple syrup, although they do not produce quite as well as Sugar Maple. Red Maple is the state tree of Rhode Island.
