Red Maple
Acer rubrum
Red Maple, also called Swamp Maple, may grow to over 50 feet tall in South Florida. It has a straight trunk up to two feet in diameter with colorful lichens painting the bark.
Color starts around Christmas time when the old leaves turn red, orange, yellow and purple. Shortly after leaf fall, the flower buds begin to open into pink clusters.
The seeds start out red and turn pink as they mature into one inch winged samaras which occur in pairs and form clusters. These mature by early February and are followed by young leaves that may be light green or bright red. Most leaves are four inches long and have three lobes.
Red Maple likes moist soil but can tolerate fairly dry soil once fully established. It is not tolerant of salt air or water, yet can tolerate short periods of freshwater flooding.
It naturally grows along the edge of wetlands, not in the water like Cypress or Pond Apple. Healthy older trees can tolerate some drought. It is best to have moist soil though.
Squirrels and chipmunks love to eat the ripe seeds. several squirrels may be on the tree at one time. Deer and rabbits will eat the young growth. The seeds are also tasty if roasted See this link for more info.
This is a wide ranging tree from Maine to Dade County Florida and west to Texas. Always get trees grown from local seed so that you don’t end up with a plant from a northern state that will be dormant six months of the year. In South Florida, it is bare for only four to six weeks.
Red Maple mixes with many wetland species. Trees include: Cypress, Pond Apple, Red Bay, Water Hickory, Popash, Carolina Willow, Sweetgum, Sweetbay, Loblolly Bay, Laurel Oak, Live Oak, Slash Pine, Hackberry, Florida Elm, Paurotis Palm and Florida Royal Palm.
Shrubs include: Virginia Willow, Buttonbush, Wax Myrtle, Coccoplum, Elderberry, Saw Palmetto, Myrsine, Firebush, Marlberry and Wild Coffee.
Ferns and wildflowers make a great understory. Giant Leather Fern, Swamp, Marsh, Hottentot and native Boston Ferns mixed with Yellow Canna, Pickerelweed, Duck Potato, American Crinum Lily and Thalia will produce an enchanting combination.