Bigleaf maple

Leaves

Form

• 5 lobes
• Central lobe narrows toward base
• Sometimes overlapping with lateral lobes
• Central and lateral lobes separated by U-shaped notches
• Lower surface hairless

Length

• Almost as long as wide

Width

• 15–30 (sometimes 60) cm

Colour

• Upper surface shiny dark green
• Lower surface paler

Autumn colour

• Bright orange or yellow 

Margin

• Teeth irregular, blunt, wavy

Petiole

• Exudes a milky sap when cut

Buds

Form

• Terminal bud present, blunt
• 3–4 pairs of overlapping scales
• Leaf scars with 5–9 vein scars

Length

• 6–9 mm

Colour

• Greenish to reddish

Twigs

Form

• Stout, hairless

Colour

• Reddish-brown

Flowers

Form

• Sepals small
• Fragrant
• Many-flowered drooping racemes

Length

• Stalks 10–15 cm

Width

• 10 mm

Colour

• Greenish-yellow

Structure

• Polygamo-monoecious

Floral timing

• Before the leaves

Fruits

Form

• Seedcase swollen, hairy
• Keys in elongated drooping clusters

Structure

• Samara
• In joined pairs

Bark

Form

• Shallowly furrowed into narrow scaly ridges
• Often covered with mosses, liverworts, ferns

Colour

• Greyish-brown

Wood

Texture

• Moderately hard, weak

Colour

• Light brown

Uses

• Furniture, flooring, musical instruments
• Interior paneling

Size

Height

• To 30 m

Diameter

• To 100 cm

Maximum age

• 250 years

Tree form

Forest-grown

Trunk

• Straight
• Often branch-free for one-half or more of height 

Crown

• Narrow  

Open-grown

Trunk

• Divides into large spreading and ascending limbs

Crown

• Broad, rounded

Root system

• Shallow, wide-spreading

Habitat

Site

• Moist, coarse, gravelly soils

Light tolerance

• Moderately shade-tolerant

Associated species

• Red alder, black cottonwood, Douglas-fir, western redcedar, western hemlock

Range

Coastal British Columbia and Vancouver Island
The only tree-size native maple on the Pacific coast