Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Sapindales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Acer spicatum
FAMILY
Sapindaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Mountain Maple at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The foliage is quite similar to that of Acer rubrum var. rubrum, with which it can occur; in addition to the key characters, A spicatum can be distinguished from A. rubrum by its leaves which have a strongly rugose texture, the secondary and tertiary veins impressed on the upper surface, distinctly raised on the lower... Read more in Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Acer spicatum
FAMILY
Aceraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 115-01-002:
Acer spicatum FAMILY Aceraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Acer spicatum
COMMON NAME:
Mountain Maple
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_029
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_717
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_acsp2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0305q_15
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Flowers in terminal erect racemes or panicles, appearing after the leaves, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
COMPARE
flowers of Maple species
)
JK Marlow s060520_b
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm090610_017
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Male and female flowers in separate upright clusters [these staminate], per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_a_spicatum_1
July Towns-Union Counties GA
Brasstown Bald
Secondary & tertiary veins impressed on upper surface, distinctly raised below, per Weakley's Flora.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_a_spicatum_6
July Towns-Union Counties GA
Brasstown Bald
Bark brownish, scaly or thinly furrowed, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm0511a_29
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow s051106_a
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Leaves coarsely serrate (2-3 teeth per cm), per Weakley's Flora.
COMPARE
leaves of Mountain Maple and Striped Maple
)
JK Marlow s051106_b
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Oops.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Acer spicatum
FAMILY
Sapindaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Acer spicatum
FAMILY
Aceraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 115-01-002:
Acer spicatum
FAMILY
Aceraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Acer spicatum
19
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: High elevation forests (northern hardwoods or spruce-fir), generally above 1500 m in NC, above 900 m in VA, especially common in periglacial boulderfields, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina & Georgia
Uncommon (rare in GA & SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Does not have milky sap
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellowish-green
Radially symmetrical
5 sepals
5 petals
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Schizocarp composed of two 1-seeded samaras
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p064
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p179
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p046
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p085
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p061
- The Sibley Guide to Trees (Sibley, 2009) p345
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p089
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p146
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p14
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p223
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p046
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