T 



THE RED MAPLE 



HE Red Maple is happily so named: at almost any season it displays some token 

 to justify the adjective. In winter it is the bark of the twigs ; in spring the blos- 

 soms ; in summer the key-fruits, while in autumn 



" The Maple swamps glow like a sunset sea, 

 Each leaf a ripple with its separate flush." 



The species is easily distinguished from its allies. The leaves have the sinuses acute 

 rather than rounded. The flowers are on short stalks and the small key-fruits on long 

 stalks that arise from a common base. The young trees have a smooth, distinctive light 

 gray bark, while the old trees have the dark gray bark separated into many long scale-like 

 plates. The wood is less valuable than that of the Sugar Maple, but it is largely used for 

 making chairs and other kinds of furniture. 



In many respects the Red Maple is the most conspicuous tree in our landscape. 

 In winter the red twigs often shine in the sunlight, while in earliest spring the deep crimson 

 blossoms so thickly clothe the leafless branches that the trees challenge the attention of 

 the most listless observer. A few weeks later, when the blossoms have developed into 

 fruits, the latter are so deeply crimson that they give color to the landscape just come into 

 the leafy greenness of June. The terminal leaves on the younger growth are commonly 

 crimson through the summer, and in earliest autumn the whole foliage becomes so brilliant 

 as to be the dominant tone of the lower valleys. 



The Red Maple is also commonly called the Scarlet Maple, Swamp Maple and Soft 

 Maple. It is a lowland tree, being especially found in swamps and along river-banks, 

 and is widely distributed through eastern North America, occurring both north and south 

 as far west as Iowa and Texas. Professor Sargent states that the largest trees are found in 

 the valley of the Ohio River and its tributaries. 



There are two well marked varieties of the Red Maple. One of these named 

 Drummondii is found in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas and is distinguished by three- 

 lobed leaves which are covered on the lower surface with a white, cottony coating, 

 which is also much in evidence on the young twigs. The other variety, called 

 tridens, occurs along the coast from New Jersey to Texas, and is generally to be known 

 by its few glandular teeth and the fact that the lower surfaces of the leaves are com- 

 monly more or less hairy. 



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