244 



3. Acer rubrum Linnseus. RED MAPLE. SOFT MAPLE. SWAMP 

 MAPLE. Plate 113. Medium to large sized trees; bark of small 

 trees smooth and gray, becoming dark brown on old trees, somewhat 

 furrowed and scaly; branchlets smooth and reddish; twigs generally 

 smooth but sometimes hairy, becoming glabrous by autumn; leaves 

 5-12 cm. long, 3-5 lobed, more or less cordate at the base, sometimes 

 truncate or rounded, sinuses acute, those of 3-lobed leaves generally 

 wider angled than those of 5-lobed ones, the lobes more or less irregu- 

 larly serrate or dentate, hairy while young, glabrous above and more 

 or less hairy beneath at maturity, glaucous beneath; flowering period 

 March or April; flowers red or reddish, in the axils of the leaves of the 

 previous year, the staminate and pistillate in separate clusters on the 

 same or different trees; fruit maturing late in spring, on pedicels 3-8 cm. 

 long, generally red, sometimes green, glabrous at maturity, rarely some- 

 what pubescent, 1.5-3.5 cm. long. 



Distribution. Newfoundland to Florida, west to Minnesota and 

 south to Texas. It is found in all parts of Indiana. Its preferred 

 habitat is that of low ground about lakes, swamps, along streams and 

 in the "flats" in the southeast part of the State. Throughout its range 

 in Indiana where it is found in low ground, it is in places rich in organic 

 matter, except in the "flats" of the southern part of the State where it 

 grows in a hard clay soil with sweet gum, red birch, etc. In contrast 

 the silver maple is generally found growing in wet places with little 

 organic matter; especially is this true in the lower Wabash bottoms. 

 The red maple grows also on high ground. In the northern part of the 

 State it is only an occasional tree of gravelly ridges or on high ground 

 about lakes or along streams. In the southern part of the State it is a 

 local to a frequent tree in most parts of the "knob" area where it is 

 associated with white oak, black oak, black gum, etc. It is also an 

 occasional tree on the top of bluffs and cliffs. 



Remarks. The red maple is not abundant enough in Indiana to be 

 of any economic importance. It grows rapidly and should replace the 

 silver maple for shade tree planting since its branches are not broken off 

 as easily by ice storms and it is more resistant to insect attack. 



3a. Acer rubrum variety Drummondii (Hooker and Arnott) 

 Torrey and Gray. This variety of the red maple is a form found in the 

 dense swamps of the lower Wabash Valley. It is distinguished from the 

 type by its twigs which generally remain more or less hairy until matur- 

 ity; by the under surface of the leaves remaining more or less tomentose 

 during the summer, and by its larger fruit. This variety is known with 

 certainty only from Little Cypress Swamp in Knox County about 12 

 miles southwest of Decker. Here it is a frequent to a common tree 



