Silver Maple

Acer saccharinum, commonly known as the silver maple, creek maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, large maple, water maple, swamp maple, or white maple, is a species native to the eastern and central United States. It is one of the most common trees in the United States. We should note, the silver maple should not be confused with the sugar maple, Acer saccharum or the red maple, Acer rubrum.

You will find two silver maples in the front yard of Dodona manor. The silver maple is a relatively fast-growing deciduous tree, commonly growing to a height of 49 to 82 feet and a width of 36 to 49 feet. The tree is often found along waterways and wetlands, leading to its colloquial name of ‘water maple’ or ‘swamp maple’. It is highly adaptable; it requires a higher level of sunlight as compared with than other maple trees.

Silver maple leaves are simple and palmately veined. They are 3.25 to 6.25 inches long and 2.25 to 4.75 inches wide with deep angular notches between the five lobes. The 2-to-4.75-inch slender stalks of leaves mean that even a light breeze can produce a striking effect as the downy silver undersides of the leaves are exposed. In autumn, the sliver maple leaves are less pronounced than many other maples, generally ending up a pale yellow. Some variations can produce a more brilliant yellow or even orange and red colorations. The silver maple tends to color and drop its leaves earlier than other maple trees.

Silver maple flowers are produced in dense clusters in early spring before the leaves appear. Seeds mature in early summer. The fruit are samaras, each containing a single seed and winged in pairs. Silver maple fruit are the largest among the maples. Silver maples and its close cousin the red maple are the only Acer species to produce their fruit in the spring instead of the fall. Silver maples are usually dioecious (separate male and female trees), but some are monoecious (male and female flowers are on the same tree).

The bark on a mature silver maple will be gray and shaggy. On branches and young trees, the bark is smooth and silvery gray.

Silver maples are a source for food and homes for wildlife. Its large, rounded buds are a primary food source for squirrels in the spring. Its seeds are a food source for chipmunks and birds. Beaver and deer will eat the bark. The trunks often have cavities, which provide shelter for squirrels, raccoons, opossums, owls, and woodpeckers.

Wood from a silver maple is often used as pulp for making paper. Silver maple wood is light weight and easily worked. Thus, lumber from the tree is used in furniture, cabinets, flooring, musical instruments, crates, and tool handles. Because of its fast growth, researchers are investigating it as a source for biofuels. The silver maple produces a sweet sap, but it is generally not used by commercial sugar makers because the sugar content is lower than other maple species.

You will often find silver maples planted in yards and along streets due to its fast growth, ease of transplanting, and tolerance for urban areas. The downside is its fast growth leads to brittle wood that is often damaged in storms, its root system is shallow and fibrous and easily invades septic fields and drainpipes, it will crack sidewalks and foundations. It is a vigorous resprouter and if not pruned will often grow multiple trunks.