Acer saccharinum L.

• Authority

  Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

• Family

  Sapindaceae

• Scientific Name

  Acer saccharinum L.

• Description

  Species Description - Tree to 30 m, with light gray bark separating in large plates; winter-buds with 6–10 imbricate scales; lvs deeply 5-lobed, silvery-white beneath, the lobes acuminate and ± sharply toothed or with minor lobes along the sides, the terminal lobe concavely narrowed to the base; fls from clusters of lateral buds, opening in earliest spring, greenish-yellow or reddish, each cluster unisexual; pedicels short, scarcely exceeding the strongly ciliate bud-scales; cal gamosepalous, shallowly lobed; stamens long-exsert; disk vestigial or wanting; ovary densely hairy; frs falling before the lvs are fully grown, the mericarps 3.5–5+ cm, sparsely hairy; 2n=52. Moist or wet soil, especially along riverbanks; N.B. and s. Que. to Minn., and e. S.D., s. to Ga., w. Fla., La., and Okla. (Argentacer s.)

• Common Names

  silver maple, soft maple