Pick an image for a larger view. Photos by Dave Spier except photo of male flowers by Dan Otis, Click Here to Join the FLNPS List-Serv (best to have or create Google account, but non-gmail IDs are OK) and LIKE us on Facebook  (must have FB account). Don’t look down at the ground for this flower, look up; this is not one of our dainty spring perennials, it’s a good-sized tree! Even with our nights still well below freezing, silver maple trees are bursting with blossoms. Leaves turn yellow in fall. One of the first signs of spring is a native woodland flower so early that it is often overlooked. Some consider the form to be poor but as a free … I lived in the same house growing up with a silver maple in the yard. Darkone. Older branches and the trunk develop coarse, scaly bark with age that can look quite shaggy and flake off. ), the wind soon blows the pollen away, and within a day or so the male flowers start to turn brown and droop. Pockets in the roots were hollowed out, holding water after a rain. Typically, most of the buds on a given tree bloom at the same time; in fact, if there are several Silver Maples in an area, they will usually all flower within days of each other. Habitat: Silver Maple in native habitat prefers moist soils such as moist woods, floodplains and riparian areas with full sun. Silver maple is a large canopy tree that occupies a variety of moist to wet woodland habitats, especially floodplains where it can tolerate extensive periods of flooding and siltation. Silver maple ( Acer saccharinum ). It fall color is a brief, washed out yellow and it is a ample producer of sap for maple syrup in the spring. Photos courtesy Peter M. Dziuk taken in Anoka and Ramsey counties. Early in spring, long before the trees begin to leaf out, even before the pussy willow's catkins, you may notice a haze of red among the branches of the Silver Maples. Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) is second only to skunk cabbage when it comes to early spring flowering. Read on to Mark's Silver Maple Fact Sheet for more pictures and additional information. Your Name: Their branches are fringed in bright red and fuzzy cream right after the snow melts, before the ground is warm enough for the spring ephemerals to bloom and earlier than any other tree or shrub. The leaves of Silver Maple are the most deeply lobed of the Minnesota maples, along with the shaggy bark of mature trees makes it easily distinguishable from most other maples. The silver maple tree is a relatively fast-growing deciduous tree, commonly reaching a height of 15–25 m (49–82 ft), exceptionally 35 m (115 ft). Despite their many problems, there's one wonderful thing about silver maples: their flowers are (if I'm not mistaken) the earliest of any native plant. Early in spring, long before the trees begin to leaf out, even before the pussy willow's catkins, you may notice a haze of red among the branches of the Silver Maples. The developing seeds are also red at first, so the fruit clusters look much like the flowers and the female trees seem to bloom for weeks. ), please check the links and invasive species pages for additional resources. From a distance, the trees still seem to be in bloom; but if you look closely, you will see that you are now looking at clusters of fruit instead of flowers. Silver maple grows rapidly and is short-lived (100-130 years) compared to sugar maple (250-400 years). Your email address: (required) Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it? Where in Minnesota? Their branches are fringed in bright red and fuzzy cream right after the snow melts, before the ground is warm enough for the spring ephemerals to bloom and earlier than any other tree or shrub. If it is windy (and when is it not windy in March? Male and female flowers can be on separate trees or on separate branches on the same tree or occasionally within the same flower cluster. Note: All comments are moderated before posting to keep the riff-raff out. It grows to 18 metres (60 feet)—higher under favourable conditions—with a short, stout trunk and wide, irregular crown; slender drooping branches turn upward at the tips. Look closely and you will see that it is made up of hundreds and thousands of reddish buds swelling along the branches. Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, sun; low wet woodlands, floodplains, riverbanks. Comment (max 1000 characters): Note: Comments or information about plants outside of Minnesota and neighboring states may not be posted because I’d like to keep the focus of this web site centered on Minnesota. Sources for Native Plants in the Finger Lakes Region of NY. The tree was there when my parents moved into the house in 1954. It blooms as early as February in the South and as late as May in the northern extremes of its range, but here in the Finger Lakes area, it usually blooms in March. Young bark is smooth and gray, becoming flaky with age. Its annual seed load produces a carpet of seedlings on the forest floor and can be a bane to gardeners in an urban setting. Masthead photo credit: F. Robert Wesley. Help support this site ~ Information for sponsor opportunities. Thanks for your understanding. Sold in 2009, but the tree still remains. The males have long, erect stamens. Mowing can be bothersome. See Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The wings form an angle of about 90 degrees. Silver maples have some of the largest seeds of our native Maples. One year old twigs are smooth, brown to reddish, especially right before spring bud break, turning silvery gray like the branches the second year. I'd often see a bird drinking out of them days after the rain. For info on subjects other than plant identification (gardening, invasive species control, edible plants, etc. An email address is required, but will not be posted—it will only be used for information exchange between the 2 of us (if needed) and will never be given to a 3rd party without your express permission. In fact, all the Silver Maple flowers in the neighborhood will bloom together, within a few days of each other. It is a fast grower and, at one time, more used in urban landscapes where it is still common, though its huge size often dwarfs the landscape and its brittle wood is prone to storm damage. A common complaint is the roots that are just below the surface that come popping through the ground. Despite their many problems, there's one wonderful thing about silver maples: their flowers are (if I'm not mistaken) the earliest of any native plant. It is a highly adaptable tree, although it has higher sunlight requirements than other maple trees. Look quickly because the blooms won’t last long. Dense, round, reddish flower clusters, about ½ inch across, form on small lateral branchlets at the tips of the previous year's branches in late March to early April, before leaves emerge. It is often found along waterways and in wetlands, leading to the colloquial name "water maple". This close relative of red maple bears its male (pictured) and female flowers separately, sometimes on the same tree and sometimes not. (The dry, winged fruits are called "keys" or "samaras" in botanical jargon; or, because they are double, "schizocarps" in even more incomprehensible jargon.) The upper surface is dark green and smooth, the lower surface much paler with short fine hairs across the surface. Leaves have 5 palmate lobes with deep sinuses between the upper three, the basal lobes reduced. Its spread will generally be 11–15 m (36–49 ft) wide. One day, when the weather is just perfect, all the flower buds on the Silver Maple will burst into bloom at once. It is not tolerant of shade on poorer sites and is a pioneer dominant canopy species. But here is the fascinating thing, those big surface roots posed as a little bird bath. Most of the flowers on … Map of native plant purveyors in the upper midwest. Fruit is a pair of winged seeds (samara), 1½ to 2 1/3 inch long that matures and shed in May through early summer. The exact date that the Silver Maple blooms varies with weather and location. The female flowers seem to bloom much longer, but after they are pollinated, the stigmas also droop, turn brown, and fall off. Funding provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources. All website content © 2020 FLNPS unless otherwise noted. The exact date that the Silver Maple blooms varies with weather and location. Web design and content copyright © 2006-2020 MinnesotaWildflowers.info. The fruits eventually turn green, then brown, and become the typical two-winged seeds that we associate with maples, twirling like gyrocopters as they fall from the trees by the thousands in late May or early June; but by then the leaves have obscured the branches and we have many and showier spring flowers to distract our attention. Silver Maples Beginning To Flower. Leaves are simple and opposite, the blade up to 6½ inches long and as wide but typically smaller, on a stalk half to as long as the blade. Early in spring, often in March, long before trees begin to leaf out, the swollen red buds of Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum) begin to open, revealing the flowers within. ( dbh ) and smooth, the basal lobes reduced 36–49 ft wide! Just below the surface below freezing, Silver maple blooms varies with weather and location 100-130... 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