Red Maple
Acer rubrum
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Basic Information
Other names
Swamp Maple, Water Maple, Soft Maple
Order
Sapindales
Family
Sapindaceae
Size
30 - 70 ft
Leaf Color
Green, Red Fall Foliage
Leaf Arrangement
Opposite
Leaf Complexity
Palmate
Leaf Shape
Palmate
Blooming Season
Spring
Bloom Color
Red
Attracts
Bees, Wildlife
Danger
Leaves and bark are poisonous to livestock.
Can I eat Red Maple?
Maple Syrup! Though not as sweet as the Sugar Maple.
Medicinal uses for Red Maple
Native Americans used the bark as an analgesic, wash for inflamed eyes and cataracts, and as a medicine for hives and muscular aches. Tea brewed from the inner bark has been used for treating coughs and diarrhea. Settlers made brown and black dyes from the bark.
Red Maple Habitat
Red Maples (Acer rubrum) require high water. They can often be found in moist forests and wet swamplands along stream beds.
Red Maple Facts
Red Maples (Acer rubrum) are widespread and bloom early, making them important to bees and other pollinators. Its buds are also an important food source to Eastern Gray Squirrels, White-tailed Deer and other wildlife. The tree's brilliant fall foliage light up trails in autumn. It is used in the production of Maple Syrup and is the state tree of Rhode Island.