North Carolina Wildflowers, Shrubs, & Trees

by Jeffrey S. Pippen | Back to Jeff's Plant Page | Jeff's Nature Pages


Sapindaceae > Acer (maple)

Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum) Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum)
Graham Co., NC
28 Apr 2006

Common and found in rich woods in the mountains in NC, the flower clusters are found in the spring and are normally pendant but are often seen wind-blown to the tops of the leaves.

Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum) Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum)
Buncombe Co., NC
29 Apr 2006
Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum) Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum)
Buncombe Co., NC
29 Apr 2006
Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum) Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum)
Watauga Co., NC
23 July 2006

Developing fruits (samaras).

Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum) Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum)
Buncombe Co., NC
29 Apr 2006

Striped Maple is named for the vertical stripes on its bark.

Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum) Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum)
Buncombe Co., NC
29 Apr 2006

This maple hosted what appeared to be some very ornate-looking scale insects being tended by ants!


Florida Maple, Southern Sugar Maple (Acer floridanum) Florida Maple, Southern Sugar Maple (Acer floridanum)
Duke University campus, Durham Co., NC
29 Oct 2009

Sugar Maples turn a beautiful orange in the fall when viewed from a distance. Common in the piedmont and coastal plain of NC, particularly in moist or rich soils.

Florida Maple, Southern Sugar Maple (Acer barbatum) Florida Maple, Southern Sugar Maple (Acer floridanum)
Duke University campus, Durham Co., NC
29 Oct 2009

This species is often referred to as Acer barbatum, but recent taxonomic sleuthing suggests A. floridanum is the correct name.

Florida Maple, Southern Sugar Maple (Acer barbatum) Florida Maple, Southern Sugar Maple (Acer floridanum)
Durham Co., NC
7 March 2010

Southern Sugar Maple often exhibits marcescence, retaining its dead leaves well into late winter.


Red Maple (Acer rubrum) Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
Scotland Co., NC
10 Apr 2004

Common across NC, Red Maple is found in a many different habitats. Shown here are the fruits, which are the familiar "helicopter" seeds known to nearly everyone.

Red Maple (Acer rubrum) Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
Durham Co., NC
10 Mar 2007

Red Maple is one of the first trees to flower in the late winter/early spring.

Red Maple (Acer rubrum) Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
Durham Co., NC
2 Mar 2008

Red Maple in flower.

Red Maple (Acer rubrum) Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
Orange Co., NC
3 Nov 2006

Red Maple (Acer rubrum) Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
Pender Co., NC
13 Sep 2009

Root suckers and saplings are often scarlet in color even before autumn.

Red Maple (Acer rubrum) Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
Orange Co., NC
3 Nov 2006

Young and medium aged trees have smooth gray bark.

Red Maple (Acer rubrum) Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
Buncombe Co., NC
8 Sep 2012
Red Maple (Acer rubrum) Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
Durham Co., NC
31 Jan 2010

Bark of older trees begins to break up, long cracks and ridges. These individuals are unusual in having twisted while growing.


Chalk Maple(Acer leucoderme) Chalk Maple (Acer leucoderme)
Chatham Co., NC
7 June 2008

Uncommon to rare in the piedmont and mountains of NC, Chalk Maple usually grows on high pH soils.

Chalk Maple(Acer leucoderme) Chalk Maple (Acer leucoderme)
Chatham Co., NC
7 June 2008

Leaves resemble Florida Maple (Acer barbatum = A. floridanum) with rounded sinuses and often odd shapes, but Chalk Maple leaves are somewhat fuzzny and yellow-green underneath whereas Florida Maple leaves are whitish underneath.

Chalk Maple(Acer leucoderme) Chalk Maple (Acer leucoderme)
Chatham Co., NC
7 June 2008

Chalk Maple(Acer leucoderme) Chalk Maple (Acer leucoderme)
Chatham Co., NC
7 June 2008

Chalk Maple(Acer leucoderme) Chalk Maple (Acer leucoderme)
Durham Co., NC
3 Aug 2012
Chalk Maple(Acer leucoderme) Chalk Maple (Acer leucoderme)
Durham Co., NC
3 Aug 2012

Note the leaf undersides are minutely hairy and green, not white-ish as in Red Maple and Florida Maple.

Chalk Maple(Acer leucoderme) Chalk Maple (Acer leucoderme)
Durham Co., NC
3 Aug 2012

Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)
Watauga Co., NC
27 July 2006

Common in the NC mountains, this is the classic source of maple syrup. Note the rounded sinuses between the leaf lobes.

Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)
Watauga Co., NC
27 July 2006


Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum) Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum)
Buncombe Co., NC
8 July 2006

Uncommon in NC and found at high elevations, Mountain Maple has erect spikes of flower.

Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum) Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum)
Buncombe Co., NC
8 July 2006

Leaves are coarsely toothed and shallowly lobed.

Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum) Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum)
Buncombe Co., NC
8 July 2006

Distinguishing them from Striped Maple, Mountain Maple leaves are rougher with the secondary and tertiary veins strongly protruding from the under leaf surface. Mountain Maples have a whitish pubescence below.

Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum) Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum)
Buncombe Co., NC
8 July 2006



Annotated habitat and distribution information listed above is from Radford, Ahles, & Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. UNC Press; and from personal observations and discussions with Will Cook, Harry LeGrand, and Bob Wilbur. Common names from personal experience and supplemented by the following resources USDA plants website, Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia, and NatureServe.


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Created on May 10, 2006 | jeffpippen9@gmail.com