Vine maple

Leaves

Form

• Almost circular
• 7–9 radiating lobes and corresponding number of veins
• Lobes narrowly triangular, separated by narrow V-shaped notches
• Lower surface downy in spring becoming hairless

Length

• 3–10 cm

Width

• 3–10 cm

Colour

• Upper surface bright yellowish-green
• Lower surface pale green

Autumn colour

• Red or yellow

Margin

• Single- or double-toothed

Buds

Form

• Terminal bud absent
• Lateral buds small
• 1–2 pairs of hairless scales
• Inner scales hairy

Colour

• Red

Twigs

Form

• Terminal bud present when a flower bud occupies the terminal position
• Slender, hairless

Colour

• Green

Autumn colour

• Often becoming red

Flowers

Form

• 5 sepals
• 5 smaller petals
• Arranged on slender branched stalks (corymbs) in loose, drooping terminal clusters

Width

• About 12 mm

Colour

• Sepals purple or red
• Petals white

Structure

• Polygamo-monoecious

Floral timing

• When the leaves are half grown

Fruits

Form

• Seedcase swollen, ridged
• Hairless
• Mature in late autumn
• Angle between wings almost 180°

Length

• Wings 25–38 mm

Colour

• Red or rose-coloured during summer

Structure

• Samara
• In joined pairs

Bark

Form

• Thin, smooth
• Sometimes marked by shallow crevices

Colour

• Greenish becoming bright reddish-brown

Size

Height

• To 10 m 

Diameter

• To 15 cm

Tree form

Forest-grown

Trunk

• Short, crooked
• Often prostrate, with twisted, spreading limbs

Crown

• Low, broad, irregular

Habitat

Site

• Often a constituent of the forest understory
• Along stream banks
• Also found in forest openings and on recently logged areas
• Sometimes grows in clumps or patches

Light tolerance

• Shade-tolerant

Range

Southern British Columbia