Acer saccharinum - Silver Maple

Acer saccharinum: Acer is the Latin name for maples; saccharinum refers to the tree's sweet sap. This species yields about half the amount of sugar as A. saccharum.

Native to wet floodplain forests in the Eastern United States.
Deeply 5-lobed leaves with sharply serrate margins are dark green on top, but silvery grey underneath, giving the tree its common name.
Yellow to orange to red fall color, often seen all together.
Tiny corymbs of red polygamous, apetalous flowers in late winter (~March) before the tree leafs out.
Samaras with twin seeds are joined at almost 180º. Fruit matures in late spring and persists through the summer.
Bark is light silver-grey, turning darker grey with maturity with narrow fissures and scaly plates.

Acer buergerianum - Trident Maple

Acer buergerianum: Acer, Latin for maple; buergerianum, named for Heinrich Burger, a German Jewish pharmacist and naturalist who collected plants in Japan.


Leaves opposite, with 3 triangular lobes.
Yellowish flowers in early spring.
Seeds paired in winged samaras. Wings dropping to almost parallel.

Smooth grey bark becomes fissured with age.

Acer palmatum - Japanese Maple (and cvs.)

Acer palmatum: Acer refers to the maple family, palmatum for palmate (hand-shaped) leaf divisions.

Palmately divided leaves in green and red.
Serrate margins.
Also with excellent fall color.

Samaras at 80-90º angle.
Sangokaku cultivar with red stems.