Genus Acer, L. (Maple)

Leaves - simple; opposite; edge lobed, with the lobes irregularly sharp-toothed and notched. Outline - roundish, with three to five lobes (the lowest pair, if present, the smallest); and with the hollows between the lobes pointed and usually extending less than half-way to the base of the leaf. Apex - of the lobes, pointed. Base - heart-shaped (or sometimes rounded.) Leaf/Stem - long and round. Leaf - (very variable in size and in the toothing and shape of its lobes); whitish beneath. Bark - smoothish; gray, becoming dark and rough with age. Flowers - rich crimson, on short stems in drooping clusters. March, April. Fruit - bright red, smooth, with stems two to three inches long. The wings are about one inch long. At first they approach each other, but afterward are somewhat spreading. September.Found - widely distributed in swamps and along streams especially in all wet forests eastward from the Mississippi to the Atlantic, and from Southern Canada to Florida and Texas. General Information - A tree thirty to sixty feet high, with wood of considerable value, especially when it shows a “curly grain.” It is one of the very earliest trees to blossom in the spring, and to show its autumn coloring in the fall.

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