SAPINDACEAE - - Soapberry Family

Acer spicatum Lamarck — Mountain Maple

Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum) is a shrub, or sometimes a small tree up to 30 feet in height with a short bole 6 to 8 inches in diameter and then having several upright branches with many branchlets, forming a bushy head. The National Champion has a Circumference of 31.4 inches, Height of 44 feet, and Crown Spread of 32 feet.

Separating Characteristics

Leaves simple, shallowly lobed; leaf blade 3-5.5 inches long & wide, coursely serrate (2-3 teeth per cm), pubescent beneath with whitish hairs; inflorescence an erect panicle; winter buds stalked, with 2-4 valvate scales; bark brownish (not green) and not conspicuously white striped. A. spicatum is a small tree or shrub and is confined to the highest of mountains in extreme north Georgia. In addition to these characteristics, A. spicatum can be separated from A. rubrum var. rubrum by having leaves with a strongly rugose texture, veins impressed on the upper surface, distinctly raised on the lower surface.

Habitat

High elevation forests (northern hardwoods or spruce-fir), generally above 1500 m in NC, above 900 m in VA, especially common in periglacial boulderfields. The foliage is quite similar to that of A. rubrum var. rubrum, with which it can occur; in addition to the key characters, A. spicatum can be distinguished from A. rubrum by its leaves which have a strongly rugose texture, the secondary and tertiary veins impressed on the upper surface, distinctly raised on the lower (vs. not rugose, the secondary and tertiary veins only slightly impressed on the upper surface, and slightly raised on the lower). A. spicatum is also sometimes confused with A. pensylvanicum, but these two species are readily distinguished by their leaves.

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

Native Range

Newfoundland, Labrador, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, south through New England, thence along the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.

The native range of Acer spicatum (Mountain Maple)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The Georgia range of Acer spicatum (Mountain Maple)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.