Acer grandidentatum

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Acer grandidentatum
Bigtooth Maple 2.jpg
Bigtooth maple, Wasatch Mountains, Utah
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. grandidentatum
Binomial name
Acer grandidentatum
Acer grandidentatum range map.png
Generalized natural range

Acer grandidentatum, commonly called bigtooth maple or western sugar maple, [2] [3] 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.

Contents

Description

It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 10–15 metres (33–49 feet) tall and a trunk of 20–35 centimetres (8–14 inches) diameter. The bark is dark brown to gray, with narrow fissures and flat ridges creating plate-like scales; it is thin and easily damaged. The leaves are opposite, simple, 6–12 cm (2+144+34 in) long and broad, with three to five deep, bluntly-pointed lobes, three of the lobes large and two small ones (not always present) at the leaf base; the three major lobes each have 3–5 small subsidiary lobules. The leaves turn golden yellow to red [4] in autumn (less reliably in warmer areas). In Texas, specimens do not color well if they have a heavy seed year. [5]

The flowers appear with the leaves in mid spring; they are produced in corymbs of 5–15 together, each flower yellow-green, about 4–5 millimetres (316316 in) diameter, with no petals. The fruit is a paired samara (two winged seeds joined at the base), green to reddish-pink in color, maturing brown in early fall; each seed is globose, 7–10 mm (1438 in) diameter, with a single wing 2–3 cm (341+14 in) long.

Taxonomy

It is closely related to Acer saccharum (sugar maple), and is treated as a subspecies of it by some botanists, as Acer saccharum subsp. grandidentatum (Nutt.) Desmarais. [6] [7]

Distribution and habitat

It grows from the Rocky Mountains in southeast Idaho, through Utah [4] and further south.

It commonly grows in limestone soils but can adapt to a wide range of well-drained soils, from sand to clays to even white limestone areas. It prefers sheltered canyons, valleys, and the banks of mountain streams, primarily at higher elevations but occasionally at lower elevations in disjunct locales such as the southern edge of the Edwards Plateau in Texas and in the Wichita Mountains of southwestern Oklahoma.

Cultivation

Although it is found in continental climate over all of its natural range, planted specimens grow well in the maritime climate of Vancouver. It is slow growing when young, and does not have many pests.

It is occasionally planted as an ornamental tree, valued for its drought tolerance and ability to grow in rocky landscapes.

Uses

The sweetish sap is used in western North America to make maple sugar. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

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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 the 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 platanoides</i> Species of flowering plant in the soapberry family Sapindaceae

Acer platanoides, commonly known as the Norway maple, is a species of maple native to eastern and central Europe and western Asia, from Spain east to Russia, north to southern Scandinavia and southeast to northern Iran. It was introduced to North America in the mid-1700s as a shade tree. It is a member of the family Sapindaceae.

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

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

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

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<i>Betula nigra</i> Species of birch

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

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

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<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, the yellow birch.

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

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

Acer spicatum, the mountain maple, dwarf maple, moose maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to northeastern North America from Saskatchewan to Newfoundland, and south to Pennsylvania. It also grows at high elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.

<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.

<i>Acer ginnala</i> Species of plant

Acer ginnala, the Amur maple, is a plant species with woody stems native to northeastern Asia from easternmost Mongolia east to Korea and Japan, and north to the Russian Far East in the Amur River valley. It is a small maple with deciduous leaves that is sometimes grown as a garden subject or boulevard tree.

<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 glabrum</i> Species of maple

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<i>Prunus pensylvanica</i> Species of tree

Prunus pensylvanica, also known as bird cherry, fire cherry, pin cherry, and red cherry, is a North American cherry species in the genus Prunus.

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

Acer floridanum, 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

<i>Celtis reticulata</i> Species of tree

Celtis reticulata, with common names including netleaf hackberry, western hackberry, Douglas hackberry, netleaf sugar hackberry, palo blanco, and acibuche, is a small- to medium-sized deciduous tree native to western North America.

<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. Barstow, M.; Crowley, D. (2017). "Acer grandidentatum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T103451869A103451885. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T103451869A103451885.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. "Acer grandidentatum | Landscape Plants | Oregon State University".
  3. Tollefson, Jennifer E. (2006). "Acer grandidentatum". Fire Effects Information System. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.
  4. 1 2 Arno, Stephen F.; Hammerly, Ramona P. (2020) [1977]. Northwest Trees: Identifying & Understanding the Region's Native Trees (field guide ed.). Seattle: Mountaineers Books. pp. 260–261. ISBN   978-1-68051-329-5. OCLC   1141235469.
  5. "Lost Maples State Natural Area 2007 Lost Maples State Natural Area Foliage Color Change Report". Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. 31 October 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  6. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Acer grandidentatum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team.
  7. "Acer grandidentatum". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  8. Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p.  393. ISBN   0-394-73127-1.