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Red Maple Acer rubrum

A. rubrum is known as red maple for its red buds, flowers, and fruits. It is very adaptable and can be found growing in a wide variety of soil and site conditions, including swamps, deciduous forests, and savannas. It is one of the most abundant tree species in eastern North America, and is most common in New England, the Middle Atlantic states, upper Michigan, and northeast Wisconsin.

In the lumber industry, red maple is known as soft maple. Higher-quality grades of the timber may be used as a substitute for “hard maple,” which comes from Acer nigrum and Acer saccharum, especially in furniture. The sap of the tree can also be used to make maple syrup, an important non-timber forest product, although most commercially available maple syrup comes from the sap of the hard maple species.

A. rubrum usually grows to between 20 and 30 m high and rarely lives beyond about 150 years. It is susceptible to various defects and diseases of trees, especially on less than ideal growing sites, so it is not widely used in silviculture. Because of its colorful fall foliage, it is an important ornamental tree, and it is also very important as a food source for wildlife.

Red maple wood is used for sawtimber, pulpwood, furniture, veneer, plywood, flooring, and other wood products.