Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum)

Plantae>Magnoliophyta>Magnoliopsida>Sapindales>Aceraceae>Acer spicatum Lamarck

Mountain Maple is an uncommon small tree found at higher elevations in the Mountains of North Carolina.

Buncombe Co., NC 7/8/06.

The leaves are easily told apart from Red Maple by their rugose texture -- the veins are deeply impressed in the leaf. The leaves are white-hairy beneath.

Buncombe Co., NC 7/8/06.

	Spikes of flowers appear in late spring. The inflorescence is an upright panicle, while that of the similar Striped Maple droops. Buncombe Co., NC 6/13/2009.
	Buncombe Co., NC 6/13/2009.
	Buncombe Co., NC 6/13/2009.
	Buncombe Co., NC 6/13/2009.

Young fruits.

Buncombe Co., NC 7/8/06.

The bark is thin and light brownish, much different from that of Striped Maple. The easiest way to tell the two apart is to examine the bark.

Buncombe Co., NC 7/8/06.

More information:
Borealforest.org
Natural History of the Northwoods
NC State
Virginia Tech Dendrology