CAROLINA MAPLE 



Acer carolinianum Walter 



Carolina maple is closely related to the red maple, but it is often a 

 smaller tree. The bark is smooth and gray and the wood light brown 

 in color. The small, red flowers appear with the first days of spring, 

 but the tree is at its best when the fruit develops, and the branches are 

 covered with crimson "keys" which contrast strikingly with the bare 

 branches of other nearby trees. Like its relative, the red maple, it prefers 

 wet or moist soil, and often abounds in coastal swamps. 



Carolina maple is distributed from Florida toTexas and northward to 

 Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and has been reported also from Massa- 

 chusetts. 



The specimen sketched was obtained at Beaufort, South Carolina. 



PLATE 138 



