Acer floridanum

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Acer floridanum
3RivStPkFLMaple2008.JPG
Young A. floridanum, about 4 m tall, showing color change.
Status TNC G4.svg
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Acer
Section: Acer sect. Acer
Series: Acer ser. Saccharodendron
Species:
A. floridanum
Binomial name
Acer floridanum
Acer floridanum range map 2.png
Distribution

Acer floridanum (syn. Acer saccharum subsp. floridanum (Chapm.) Desmarais, Acer barbatum auct. non Michx.), commonly known as the Florida maple and occasionally as the southern sugar maple or hammock maple, is a tree that occurs in mesic and usually calcareous woodlands of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plain in the United States, from southeastern Virginia in the north, south to central Florida, and west to Oklahoma and Texas and also common in south Illinois and Missouri [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Description

It is a medium-sized to large deciduous tree, growing to 15–25 m tall—exceptionally to 38 m—with an elliptical crown of moderate density with a smooth or rounded outline. The bark is a light gray with thick irregular curling ridges; as the tree matures, the bark tends to become plated. The twigs are slender, somewhat shiny, reddish brown. The terminal buds are sharply pointed, brown and pubescent. The leaves are opposite, simple, palmately lobed and veined, 3–9.5 cm long and 3.5–11 cm broad, with an entire margin and three or five somewhat rounded lobes, and a 2–8 cm long petiole. They are green above and paler and pubescent below. In fall they turn orange and yellow. The flowers are regular, pentamerous, and appear on yellow-green corymbs and are quite small. They hang from puberulent pedicels 2.4–5 cm long in clusters of a few flowers, appearing before or with the leaves in early spring. This is about two weeks prior to the maturation of the flowers of Acer saccharum . The tree is generally diecious, though they are often also polygamous, that is having bisexual and unisexual flowers on the same individual. The fruit is a paired samara 1.5–3 cm long. [5] [6]

Acer floridanum can easily be confused in the field with the closely related Acer leucoderme and Acer saccharum . It can be best distinguished from A. saccharum by noting the smaller leaves with short and acute lobes, the smaller samaras, and the more whitish bark. Several overlaps in genetics between these two species have been found in east Texas and in the zone from Maryland south to northern Florida, despite the fact that Maryland is listed as beyond the natural range of the tree. In light of this information, it can be assumed that the two hybridize. [5] From A. leucoderme, it is best told by the white hairs on the undersides of the leaves, yellow-haired in A. leucoderme. [7]

Taxonomy

Debate still exists about its taxonomic status, which has been controversial for at least 100 years. [3]

The Florida maple was first recognised as distinct in 1860 by Alvan Wentworth Chapman, who treated it as a variety of A. saccharum. In 1886 Ferdinand Albin Pax decided it was distinct enough to be treated as a separate species, making the new combination A. floridanum (Chapm.) Pax. [3] In 1952, Yves Desmarais took an intermediate option, treating it as a subspecies Acer saccharum subsp. floridanum (Chapm.) Desmarais, a treatment which has fairly wide recent recognition. [4] [8] [9]

A further problem exists with the specific name Acer barbatum, given to a maple by André Michaux in 1803 from samples collected in the Carolinas during his decade in North America from 1785 to 1796. For a long time it was unclear if the plant he collected was Acer saccharum (sugar maple) or A. floridanum, as his samples were badly damaged on his return to Paris. M. L. Fernald reexamined the species in the mid-1940s for the 8th edition of Gray's Manual, published in 1950; on reviewing Michaux's notes on A. barbatum, he decided to apply this name to the Florida maple in 1945, based on his interpretation that Michaux's samples, which he only knew through notes (Michaux's collections were in Paris, inaccessible as World War II had not yet ended), corresponded more closely to Florida maple than to sugar maple. Since the oldest given name takes precedence, he used the name A. barbatum for the Florida maple. Many subsequent authors accepted this judgement, such as the United States Forest Service, [5] [10] and Wilbur H. Duncan and Marion Duncan's Trees of the Southeastern United States, published in 1988. However, recent examination by D. B. Ward has shown that they are typical Acer saccharum after all, and not A. floridanum as Fernald had thought without examination, and thus Michaux's name is correctly a synonym of A. saccharum. [3] [4]

Distribution and ecology

The distribution is discontinuous in the Piedmont and Atlantic Coastal Plain from southeastern Virginia southwest across North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, as well as into the Florida Panhandle. The range goes farther west across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, into eastern Texas, and north through Arkansas and into eastern Oklahoma. The species also occurs in several isolated locations roughly halfway down the Gulf Coast of the Florida peninsula, and also in at least one location in central Oklahoma. The species is also found in isolated locations of Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky. [5] [10]

The average annual rainfall within the native area ranges from 112 to 163 cm (44 to 64 in). The driest months average no less than 50 mm (2.0 in). The normal temperatures in January within the range vary from 11 to 18 °C (52 to 64 °F) maximum, and from −2 to 7 °C (28 to 45 °F) minimum, whereas in July normal maxima are 29 to 33 °C (84 to 91 °F), and minima are 21 to 24 °C (70 to 75 °F). The tree favours moist, but well-drained fertile soils, especially on stream terrace, in coves, and on adjacent bluffs and ridgetops. It grows best on soils containing calcareous material such as limestone or marl. It also grows well on the densely forested hammocks of Florida, hence its alternative common name hammock maple. It is most often confined to the understory. [5]

Cultivation and uses

While not an overwhelmingly popular tree in cultivation, it is sometimes employed in the Southern United States as a shade tree due to its round crown and its greater resistance to heat than that of its more showy relative the sugar maple. Several species of birds and especially squirrels make use of the tree as a nesting site and also consume its seeds as a food source. [5]

Despite the fact that of itself Florida maple is not employed as a commercial timber species, it is used with associated commercial species when the products are pulpwood, sawtimber, or wood veneer stock. It is considered a hard maple and as high quality individuals are suitable for producing furniture, flooring, paneling, and shoe lasts. However, its relative scarcity, small size, and fairly poor shape generally confine its use to only factory and box lumber, and even this is only an occasional occurrence. It has, however, been experiencing growing popularity as an ornamental or shade tree, especially in the Southern United States due to its high heat resistance. It is also a source of maple syrup, though again its size and rarity limit its use in this regard, especially in light of the sugar maple's established popularity within the business. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Acer saccharinum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae

Acer saccharinum, commonly known as silver maple, creek maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, large maple, water maple, swamp maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to the eastern and central United States and southeastern Canada. It is one of the most common trees in the United States.

<i>Acer saccharum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae

Acer saccharum, the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the primary source of maple syrup and for its brightly colored fall foliage. It may also be called "rock maple," "sugar tree," "sweet maple," or, particularly in reference to the wood, "hard maple," "birds-eye maple," or "curly maple," the last two being specially figured lumber.

<i>Acer rubrum</i> Maple tree native in North America

Acer rubrum, the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant native tree in eastern North America. The red maple ranges from southeastern Manitoba around the Lake of the Woods on the border with Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to Florida, and southwest to East Texas. Many of its features, especially its leaves, are quite variable in form. At maturity, it often attains a height around 30 m (100 ft). Its flowers, petioles, twigs, and seeds are all red to varying degrees. Among these features, however, it is best known for its brilliant deep scarlet foliage in autumn.

<i>Acer campestre</i> Species of flowering plant in the lychee family Sapindaceae

Acer campestre, known as the field maple, is a flowering plant species in the family Sapindaceae. It is native to much of continental Europe, Britain, southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains. It has been widely planted, and is introduced outside its native range in Europe and areas of USA and Western Australia with suitable climate.

<i>Acer negundo</i> Species of tree commonly known as boxelder maple

Acer negundo, the box elder, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple or ash-leaved maple, is a species of maple native to North America. It is a fast-growing, short-lived tree with opposite, compound leaves. It is sometimes considered a weedy or invasive species, and has been introduced to and naturalized throughout much of the world, including in South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, much of Europe, and parts of Asia.

<i>Acer nigrum</i> Species of flowering plant in the lychee family Sapindaceae

Acer nigrum, the black maple, is a species of maple closely related to A. saccharum, and treated by some authors as a subspecies of it, as Acer saccharum subsp. nigrum.

<i>Betula alleghaniensis</i> Species of flowering plant in the birch family Betulaceae

Betula alleghaniensis, the yellow birch, golden birch, or swamp birch, is a large tree and an important lumber species of birch native to northeastern North America. Its vernacular names refer to the golden color of the tree's bark. In the past its scientific name was Betula lutea.

<i>Acer grandidentatum</i> Species of maple

Acer grandidentatum, commonly called bigtooth maple, is a species of maple native to interior western North America. It occurs in scattered populations from western Montana to central Texas in the United States and south to Coahuila in northern Mexico.

<i>Acer leucoderme</i> Species of maple

Acer leucoderme is a deciduous tree native to the southeastern United States from North Carolina south to northwest Florida and west to eastern Texas. It lives in the understory in moist, rocky soils on river banks, ravines, woods, and cliffs. Although generally an uncommon tree, it is most often found in the inner coastal plain and Piedmont regions of Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maple</span> Genus of flowering plants

Acer is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae, along with lychee and horse chestnut. There are approximately 132 species, most of which are native to Asia, with a number also appearing in Europe, northern Africa, and North America. Only one species, Acer laurinum, extends to the Southern Hemisphere. The type species of the genus is the sycamore maple, Acer pseudoplatanus, the most common maple species in Europe. Maples usually have easily recognizable palmate leaves and distinctive winged fruits. The closest relatives of the maples are the horse chestnuts. Maple syrup is made from the sap of some maple species. It is one of the most common genera of trees in Asia. Many maple species are grown in gardens where they are valued for their autumn colour.

<i>Acer shirasawanum</i> Species of maple

Acer shirasawanum, the Shirasawa maple or fullmoon maple, is a species of maple native to Japan, on central and southern Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū.

<i>Acer mandshuricum</i> Species of maple

Acer mandshuricum, the Manchurian maple, is a species of maple native to China, Korea and Russia.

<i>Acer capillipes</i> Species of maple

Acer capillipes, is a maple in the same taxonomic section as other snakebark maples such as A. pensylvanicum, A. davidii and A. rufinerve. It is native to mountainous regions in Japan, on central and southern Honshū, Kyūshū and Shikoku islands, usually growing alongside mountain streams.

<i>Acer monspessulanum</i> Species of maple

Acer monspessulanum, the Montpellier maple, is a species of maple native to the Mediterranean region from Morocco and Portugal in the west, to Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel in the east, and north to the Jura Mountains in France and the Eifel in Germany.

<i>Acer davidii</i> Species of maple

Acer davidii, or Père David's maple, is a species of maple in the snakebark maple group. It is native to China, from Jiangsu south to Fujian and Guangdong, and west to southeastern Gansu and Yunnan.

<i>Acer rufinerve</i> Species of maple

Acer rufinerve, the grey-budded snake-bark-maple, redvein maple or Honshū maple, is a species of tree in the snakebark maple group, related to Acer capillipes. It is native to mountain forests of Japan, on Honshū, Kyūshū and Shikoku.

<i>Acer crataegifolium</i> Species of maple

Acer crataegifolium , is a species of maple in the snakebark maple group, native to mountains forests of central and southern Japan, on Honshū, Kyūshū, and Shikoku.

Acer barbatum is a confused scientific name for a North American maple.

<i>Acer palmatum</i> Species of maple

Acer palmatum, commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Korean: danpungnamu, 단풍나무, Japanese: irohamomiji, イロハモミジ, or momiji,, is a species of woody plant native to Korea, Japan, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. Many different cultivars of this maple have been selected and they are grown worldwide for their large variety of attractive forms, leaf shapes, and spectacular colors.

References

  1. ↑ NatureServe Explorer: Acer barbatum in NatureServe An online encyclopedia of life, Version 6.1. (2006). Arlington, Virginia.
  2. ↑ Barstow, M.; Crowley, D. (2017). "Acer floridanum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T103451786A103451818. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T103451786A103451818.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Ward, D. B. (2004). Acer floridanum: The Correct Scientific Name of the Florida Maple. Castanea 69 (3): 230-233.
  4. 1 2 3 "Acer saccharum subsp. floridanum". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jones Jr., Earle R (1990). "Acer barbatum". In Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H. (eds.). Hardwoods. Silvics of North America. Washington, D.C.: United States Forest Service (USFS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Vol. 2 – via Southern Research Station.
  6. ↑ Common Trees of the North Carolina Piedmont: Acer barbatum
  7. ↑ Carolina Nature: Southern Sugar Maple (Acer floridanum)
  8. ↑ Desmarais, Y. (1952). Dynamics of Leaf Variation in the Sugar Maples. Brittonia 7 (5): 347-387. Abstract
  9. ↑ van Gelderen, C. J. & van Gelderen, D. M. (1999). Maples for Gardens: A Color Encyclopedia.
  10. 1 2 USDA Plants Profile: Acer barbatum
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