Silver maple

Leaves

Form

• 5–7 lobes
• Central lobe narrowing to the centre of the leaf
• Central and lateral lobes separated by deep, narrow notches

Length

• About 15–20 cm

Width

• Widest above the base

Colour

• Upper surface light green
• Lower surface silvery-white

Autumn colour

• Pale yellow or brownish
• Rarely red

Margin

• Teeth coarse, sharp, irregular 

Buds

Form

• Terminal bud present, smooth, shiny
• Flower buds stout

Length

• Terminal bud 3–4 mm, almost twice as long as wide

Colour

• Terminal bud reddish

Twigs

Form

• Unpleasant odour when bruised
• Dwarf shoots bearing clusters of flower buds on most branches

Colour

• Deep reddish brown

Flowers

Form

• Small
• Without petals
• In tassel-like clusters (racemes)

Length

• Stalks short

Colour

• Greenish-yellow

Structure

• Polygamo-monoecious

Floral timing

• Late winter, long before the leaves
• The earliest species of maple to flower

Fruits

Form

• Angle between wings about 90°
• Seedcase ribbed
• Often seed develops in only one of the paired keys (samaras)
• Samaras mature in late spring about the time leaves are fully developed
• Shed individually

Length

• Wings 40–70 mm

Structure

• Samara
• In joined pairs

Bark

Form

• Smooth when young
• Developing long, thin, narrow flakes fastened at the centre and free at both ends
• Appears shaggy

Colour

• Grey when young, becoming dark reddish-brown

Size

Height

• To 35 m

Diameter

• To 100 cm

Maximum age

• 130 years

Tree form

Forest-grown

Trunk

• Long, with ascending branches  

Crown

• High, open

Open-grown

Trunk

• Short
• Dividing near the ground into a few sharply ascending branches

Crown

• Broad, rounded at the top
• Larger branches arch outward and downward, then turn upward at the ends

Habitat

Site

• Best growth on rich, moist bottomlands bordering streams, swamps, lakeshores

Light tolerance

• Shade-tolerant