Red Maple

Acer rubrum

Size: 3 , 7, 15 & 30 Gallon Availability

Tree
Max Size: 50′ tall x 50′ wide
Average Size: 45′ tall x 35′ wide

Organic Material, Sand
Full Sun, Part Shade
Usually Moist, Occasionally Moist
No Salt Tolerance

AKA: Carolina Maple, Scarlet Maple, Soft Maple, Swamp Maple

Red Maples are a deciduous tree with a red fall color. If the tree needs pruned for shape or health, do so in winter when it’s dormant. They are fast-growing, but have a broad and shallow root system. They attract bees to their nondescript flowers, and the seeds are eaten by squirrels. It is the larval host for the imperial moth (Eacles imperialis), cecropia silkmoth (Hyalophora cecropia), polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) and rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda).

Many tribes utalize Red Maples. Abenaki, Algonquin, Iroquois, Cayuga, and Onondoga use(d) it for sugar. Cherokee use the wood to make baskets, carvings, bowls, lumber, and furniture. Seminoles use the wood to make spoons, arrowheads, and ox yokes. European colonizers took lessons on making dark blue dye for cloth from the bark and began using the bark to make dark black-blue ink. Infusions made from it can be taken for cramps; a medical infusion called ahecha keeke was made using a variety of flora by the Koasati was used for cramps, postmenopausal issues, and postpartum problems.

The bark can be tapped for syrup; it has a lower sugar content than traditional maple syrup. The late-winter, early spring flowers are also edible: they can be used raw as a garnish, processed as a kimchi or jelly, or cooked down like a green (eg. spinach).