Aceraceae

	Acer pennsylvanicum is known as striped maple. It is common in our woods, with flowers that become showy against the background of the leaves. If you examine the link you will discover why it is called striped maple.
	Acer saccharinum, the silver maple, is common along riverbanks, etc. There is an ordinance against the planting of these trees in Bridgewater. The trunks get ugly as the tree ages, with very thick growth that is not always commensurate with the thickness of the other lateral branches, and the central rot, when it occurs, is not seen until the tree collapses of its own weight! The leaf of silver maple has deep lobes with a silvery sheen on the underside. This gives an interesting look to the trees when wind is blowing. Silver maple wood is brittle and breaks easily under the stress of wind. Click on the link for this species to see additional problems with having this species in an ornamental setting. For many of these reasons, the Town of Bridgewater has an ordinance against planting silver maple.


	Box elder (Acer negundo) has compound leaves and can look like poison ivy. It is a very common riverbank tree. Poison ivy has alternate leaves, while box elder has opposite leaves. The flowers of box elder are different from most maples with the very long pedicels. One interesting feature of box elder is that it is dioecious.

	Here are two views of two different varieties of Acer platanoides, the Norway maple, in Flower. The one shown on top is in front of the Carter Center on the Bridgewater Campus. This is probably the 'Crimson King' variety. The tree in the bottom view is near Cole Hall along East College Street. It is the usual species, a common shade tree. One interesting characteristic for Norway maples is the milky juice you find in the petiole. It is the only maple with that characteristic.

	The fruit of the Maple is called a two-winged samara. The "helicoper" method of falling will cause a wider distribution of maples from the parent tree. This is an ornamental red maple in Wyant Park in Bridgewater.
	This is Acer palmatum, the Japanese maple, in front of Bowman Hall on the B.C. campus. This is a popular ornamental maple. The feather-leaved variety grows in the Shrum garden.
	The 'Crimson King' maple can give good color contrast. Here on the B.C. Campus, it is in the foreground, while the row or sugar maples planted along the Mall is in the background.
	Acer saccahrum, the sugar maple, is popular for its fall color. This cultivar is a good one, and is on the front lawn of my house. The fall colors of maples are popular, and although fall colors have an environmental component in terms of how they will 'show', there is also a genetic component that will certainly influence how colors form in a positive manner.
	This is black sugar maple (Acer nigrum) in front of Yount Hall on the B.C. campus. This tree was removed during a renovation process related to improvements of Yount and adjacent Nininger Halls.
	Close-ups of maples show the palmate lobation and venation. This is Crimson King again, a variety of Acer platanoides. One way to identify this species is to break the petiole and find the milky juice dripping out.
	This form of Acer palmatum was placed in the Shrum garden as a specimen tree near the waterfall. It has been a good slow-growing specimen, and its color presents a good contrast in that location.

The Maple family is woody, with opposite simple leaves, excluding Acer negundo, shown to the right, which has compound leaves. The leaves of most members of the family are palmately lobed. The fruit is called a two-wing samara. These comprise an important source of shade trees for ornamental use. Click here to find a list of uses for this genus.
Web Links	Acer negundo, box elder, Wildwood Park, Bridgewater Virginia