The Trees of Vermont 167 



ACERACEAE 



Mouutaiii Maple 

 Acer spicatum Lam. 



Habit. — A bushy tree sometimes 20 feet high, with a short trunk 

 4-6 inches in diameter; small, upright branches form a small, rounded 

 crown. More often a straggling shrub. 



Leaves. — Opposite, simple, 4-5 inches long and two-thirds as 

 broad ; 3-lobed above the middle, the lobes coarsely crenate-serrate with 

 pointed teeth, the sinuses usually wide-angled and acute at the base ; 

 thin ; glabrous, dark green above, covered with a whitish down beneath, 

 turning scarlet and orange in autumn ; veining prominent ; petioles long, 

 slender, with enlarged base. 



Flowers. — May-June, after the leaves are full grown; polygamo- 

 monoecious ; small, yellow-green, in erect, slightly compound, many- 

 flowered, long-stemmed, terminal racemes ; calyx downy, 5-lobed ; 

 petals 5 ; stamens 7-8 ; ovary tomentose. 



Fruit. — July- August ; bright red, turning brown in late autumn ; 

 small, glabrous, paired samaras, in pendulous, racemose clusters. 



Winter-buds. — Small, flattish, acute, bright red, more or less 

 tomentose ; the terminal j/^ inch long, containing the flowers. 



Bark. — Twigs reddish, slightly hairy; very thin, red-brown, 

 smooth or slightly furrowed on the trunk. 



Wood.— Light, soft, close-grained, light brown, with thick, lighter 

 colored sapwood. 



Distribution. — Of common occurrence throughout Vermont. 



Habitat. — Damp mountain forests ; rocky woods ; along streams 

 and roadsides ; cool ravines ; always in the shade of other trees. 



Notes. — The mountain maple rarely becomes more than a shrub 

 in Vermont. It occurs commonly in moist, rocky, mountain forests in 

 all parts of the state. Like the striped maple it is partial to roadsides, 

 and borders all our mountain driveways. The leaves are thin and 

 downy on the under side. The yellowish green flowers are borne in 

 erect pubescent clusters which appear in the latter part of June. It is 

 the spike-like arrangement of these flowers which suggested the Latin 

 name of the species. The fruits are very divergent, smaller than those 

 of any other maple and become bright red in July and August. The 

 heavy clusters then hang down and turn dark brown before being 

 scattered by the winds. This maple is one of the most highly orna- 

 mental of the smaller trees, and worthy of more general cultivation. 



