The silver maple can be found in deciduous forests, wet soils of stream banks, flood plains, moist soil riverbanks, and swamps. It also extends south through Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma to Louisiana. The silver maple extends from Maine and New Brunswick in the east, through southern Quebec and Ontario, west to Minnesota and South Dakota. In North America there are 13 native species. The silver maple is one of the 125 species of the Aceraceae family that ranges from the northern temperate regions to the south tropical mountains.

The tree has deeply cut foliage, silvery bark with orangish furrows, and “droop and swoop” branch tips. The buds look similar to those of Acer rubrum, but are slightly larger. The flower buds in clusters look like Christmas ornaments. ID features: The stems, when broken, produce a strong odor. Life span: The Silver Maple can live to be 130–150 years old The bark is smooth with a gray or silvery color, but as it becomes older it begins to be loose, scaly, and shaggy.

Trunk | Bark: The diameter of a silver maple’s trunk can reach between 3–5 feet. The paired wings are about 60–90 degrees apart. The fruits of the silver maple are called samaras. The male and female flowers can grow separately on trees, but they can also grow on the same tree. The flowers start out as red buds, but then turn to a greenish yellowish color. On the top of the leaf it is green, but when you look at the underside of the leaf it gives off a silvery white color.įlower | Seeds: The silver maple flowers very early in the spring before the leaves open. Leaf: The leaves are opposite and palmately lobed. Each leaf has five lobes which are long and sharply pointed. It’s native and is common in the eastern and midwestern United States from north to south. It makes for great river bank stabilizers because it’s fast-growing and has soft wood. Its wood is used for furniture and cabinets. It likes to grow in moist places and makes for a good shade tree.

It gets its name from the silvery sparkle of the underside of the leaf when it blows in the wind. The silver maple, Acer saccharinum, is in the Aceraceae family.

Types of maple trees in maine