Click on the images help you identify a red maple.
Form
Medium-size shade tree, 40 to 65 feet tall, with a trunk diameter of 10 to 24 inches. Crown is broad and round. Trunk is moderately long and clear of branches.
Bark
Young stems have smooth, light-gray bark. Bark on older stems and the trunk becomes dark gray and rough, divided by shallow, flaky ridges at the surface, giving the tree a shaggy appearance.
Leaf
Simple, opposite on the stem, 2 to 4 inches long, with three- to five-pointed, saw-toothed lobes separated by sharp, angular openings. Upper surface light green when mature, lower surface whitish and partly covered with pale down. Red maple is the first of the maples to turn brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow in autumn. Winter buds are small, red, and somewhat rounded.
Fruit (seed)
U-shaped pairs of winged seeds (samaras), 1/2 to 1 inch in length, growing on long, drooping stems. Seeds are red, reddish-brown, or yellow and ripen in late spring or early summer.
Range
Distributed throughout the eastern half of Minnesota, as far south as Houston County and west to a line running south from Mahnomen to Redwood Falls. Shade tolerant, moderately fast growing, and very sensitive to fire.
Wood uses
Heavy, close-grained, rather weak, light brown wood. Can be used in the manufacture of inexpensive furniture, woodenware, and fuel, but otherwise has little commercial value. Bark is sometimes used in dyeing. Its shape and brilliant foliage colors make it an important ornamental tree, and sap can be tapped to make syrup.