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Native Trees of Prince Edward IslandRed Maple (Acer rubrum)
Red Maple is not one of the species covered in our current set of publications, as we concentrated our focus on rarer tree species. Therefore, we do not have all of the information such as propagation methods listed as we do for some other species you'll see on the site. In a future publication, this species may be covered in more detail. Don't forget, we still have Red Maple for sale in our Nursery !
Red Maple is common throughtout the province. It does attain a height of 70 feet and a diameter of 2 to 3 feet on deep moist soils rarely, but more commonly it is much smaller. The trunk is long and straight in the forest, short and commonly divided into secondary stems in the open. The main branches are ascending, the smaller branches and twigs spread out and tend to turn up slightly at the ends. It is mostly found on rich moist lands and along the borders of streams and swamps. It is found in pure stands but more often in mixtures of other hardwoods and softwoods.
Source: "Native Trees of Prince Edward Island and the more Common Woodland Shrubs". by J.F. Gaudet and W.M. Profitt Dept. of Agriculture. Charlottetown, PEI. 1958.
Red Maple tree
Red Maple tree in fall colors
Red Maple leaf
Red Maple leaf in fall
Red Maple bark on a mature tree.
Red Maple flower in spring.
For more pictures and descriptions of this species, check out Atlantic Forestry Centre, and the Dendrology at Virginia Tech page, or the The natural history of the northwoods. For a through review of the ecology, refer to the Silvics of North America
In 1806, John Stewart wrote an excellent description of Forest Trees and Other Vegetable Productions on PEI at that time.
Red maple typical tree form.
Red maple leaf.
Red maple twig.
We offer a number of workshops and guided tours at the Macphail Woods and it is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the native trees of Prince Edward Island. Check out the Events Calendar for more information. Web development and maintenance by Chris Martin.
