The red maple is a very attractive native tree. It is not only very common in Atlanta area forests but very popular in residential and commercial landscaping. The tree has something red in all seasons with red winter buds, red emerging spring flowers and leaves, red summer leafstalks, and mostly red autumn leaves. (Pictured top right leaves and red berries are not red maple but dogwood.) The leaves have similarity to those depicted on the Canadian flag and on jars of maple syrup. Features and uses such as these make the red maple an interesting tree to explore.
Landscapers love the red maple because it is not only attractive but it grows fast, and it is easy to grow and transplant. While the tree prefers wet soil and tolerates much flooding, it also grows in dry areas tolerating some drought. It grows in many soil types. The tree grows 
best in full sun, but it also grows in shade. Cold is tolerated to -40F degrees. The U.S. Forest Service says that because the red maple adapts to such a wide range of conditions, it has the greatest north-south range of any tree species that lives entirely in the eastern forests. It warns that this tree is becoming more common in these forests. This is because animals there prefer to eat nuts and acorns over red maple seeds, and even more of the seeds are spreading into forests from landscape cultivation. In many areas, the historical dominance of hickories, oaks, and pines is threatened by this tree. It is already the most abundant native tree in the eastern United States, and landscapers have much to do with this.
Some common names for the red maple are scarlet maple, trident red maple, swamp maple, water maple, and soft maple. The tree’s scientific name is Acer rubrum. These names reflect the tree’s color, its preference for wet soil, and the fact that its lumber is softer than sugar and black maples. Trees mature in 70 to 80 years, and have an expected life of 150 years. Tree growth is 1 to 2 feet per year, typically growing 40 to 60 feet high with a trunk diameter of 2 feet. However, trees may be found that are 100 feet high with a trunk diameter of 4 feet. The tree has an oval canopy with upward-reaching branches, but those grown in the open appear shorter, thicker and more rounded. The bark of a young tree is grey and smooth. With age, 
the upper trunk and branches remain smooth but the lower trunk becomes darker with cracks, plates and ridges. Twigs usually appear reddish in color, and are smooth with small lenticels or pores. The above picture is a 14 year old red maple, with a red maple cultivar in the background. The picture below it is of a very old red maple.
Leaves on the red maple are palmate or hand-shaped, with 3 to 5 lobes that have shallow sinuses. Base lobes of those with 5 lobes are much smaller than the upper 3 lobes. Leaves are 2 to 5 inches long and have serrated margins. In contrast, the lobes of the related silver maple typically have 5 lobes, are more deeply lobed, and are more 
sharply toothed. Leaf color of the red maple is light to medium green and smooth on top, and gray and somewhat rough below. Leaf stalks, called petioles, are usually red and up to 4 inches long. Autumn leaves are showy and appear brilliant red, brilliant yellow, and shades in between- often on the same tree. Color appears later than the silver maple.
Red maple trees have either male or female flowers, and some may have both. Trees with both sexes usually have male and female flowers on separate branches. Under some conditions, a tree may switch sex. Flowers appear from April to May before the leaves, and are red. While sugar and black maples bloom in autumn, silver and red maples bloom in spring and this limits their season of sap production for making maple syrup. Female flowers have 5 small petals, they have 1 pistil and 2 long styles, and they 
hang in clusters from twig tips. Male flowers contain between 4 and 12 stamens. The fruit is a samara that is borne on long, slender stems. The samara is a pair of seeds, each having a wing, and the wings join at an angle of 45 degrees or less. It first appears red in color, and it turns light brown with maturity and before dispersal by the wind. A bumper crop is produced every other year, and one large tree may produce over a million seeds. Depending on conditions, a seed may germinate soon after release in early summer, or it may wait to germinate in the spring. Seedlings survive for short periods under dense canopies, waiting to fill openings caused by damage, disease or cutting.
The red maple has many important uses. Its use as an attractive landscape specimen is very popular. There are male cultivars of this tree but they tend to be highly allergenic. Another use of this tree is the wood, which is categorized as “soft maple”. Wood strength is intermediate between the strong-wooded sugar maple (which is a “hard maple”) and the weak-wooded silver maple. It is strong, tight-grained, easily stained, and considered medium to high quality. It is suitable for making musical instruments, furniture, flooring, and veneers. Yet another use for red maple is for production of maple syrup. Studies have shown that all maples are equal in sweetness, flavor and quality, but the season for tapping red maples is 
shorter than for the sugar maple. This is because when buds emerge in early spring on red maples, the sap stops flowing at this time. The chemical makeup of the sap changes at this time also, imparting an undesirable flavor to the sap and syrup. Red maple sap can be collected from the time the sap begins to flow in late winter to when the buds begin to emerge. As an aside, a study in upstate New York found that beavers do not like the taste of red maple and prefer other trees.
The red maple has important uses in landscaping, for wood, and to make maple syrup. As this is the most abundant tree in the eastern United States, it is useful to be able to 
recognize it, know its many uses, and be aware of its invasive nature. Now that you know it is possible, you could one day eat pancakes using maple syrup you made from a red maple!
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