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Acer saccharinum

Silver maple

Creek maple, Large maple, Silverleaf maple, Soft maple, Swamp maple, Water maple, White maple

Blatt (CC BY-SA 3.0) Simon Eugster

Short Description

Silver maples are often multi-stemmed and can grow up to 35 m tall.

The leaves are palmately lobed and deeply notched. They alternate with long stalks. The leaf margins are deeply serrated. The underside of the leaves is silver-grey.

The bark is grey with vertical fissures. It may turn scaly.

The yellow-green flowers grow in panicles (flower heads).

The fruit is a winged nut fruit consisting of two mericarps. Their wings are arranged at an obtuse angle to each other.

Features

Silver maple

Acer saccharinum

  • leaf margins with deep notches

  • leaves with a silvery-grey underside

  • wings of the fruits at an obtuse angle

Similar species

Norway maple

Acer platanoides
The leaves of the norway maple are bare and glossy. The leaf margin shows little serration. The leaf stalk contains a milky sap. The wings of the fruits are arranged at an obtuse angle to each other.

Sycamore

Acer pseudoplatanus
The leaves of the sycamore maple are matt and not shiny. The lobes do not have long pointed teeth. The wings of the fruits are arranged at an acute angle to each other.

Field maple

Acer campestre
The leaves of the field maple are notably smaller. The lobes of the leaves are often undivided and rounded. The leaf stalk contains a milky sap. The wings of the fruits are arranged horizontally to each other.
weibliche Blüte (CC BY-SA 4.0) Alice Kracht

In the city

Silver maples are popular ornamental trees in parks and gardens. They prefer semi-shaded, damp sites. All maple trees produce numerous fruits so that the trees self-disseminate well in urban environments.

Fun Facts

  • The flowers of maple species are usually hermaphroditic, i.e. a flower contains female parts and male parts. However, there are unisexual flowers, i.e. there are only female or male parts. The reason for this is the evolution from insect pollination of hermaphrodite flowers to wind pollination of unisexual flowers.

  • It flowers from February to April.

  • The fruit ripening season is from May to June.

  • Endangerment level Germany: not evaluated
  • Usage:

    In North America, the sap rising to the branches in spring is used for making sugar (maple syrup), similar as for the sugar maple (Acer saccharum).

  • The tree originates from North America and is a non-native plant (neophyte).

Frucht (CC BY 2.0) Jason Sturner

Sources

Blatt, Simon Eugster, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acer_saccharinum_leaves.jpg

weibliche Blüte, Alice Kracht, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://offene-naturfuehrer.de/web/Datei:Acer_saccharinum_(7).JPG

Frucht, Jason Sturner, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acer_saccharinum_samaras_Churchill_Woods_Glen_Ellyn_Illinois.jpg

Aas, G. & Riedmiller, A. (2002) Laubbäume. Bestimmen – Kennenlernen – Schützen, Bindlach: Gondrom Verlag.

Amann, G. & Richter, P. (1962) Bäume und Sträucher des Waldes, Melsungen: Verlag J. Neumann – Neudamm.

Page „Silber-Ahorn“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 05.12.2015, 15:42 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Silber-Ahorn&oldid=148781953 (Accessed: 12.04.2016).