Synonyms: Argentacer saccharinum.
Common throughout much of Maryland, but rare on the mid and lower Eastern Shore.
Silver Maple ranges from eastern Canada to South Dakota, and south to Arkansas and Florida. It is common in swamps and along streambanks but will also grow in drier places. It is often planted as a street or shade tree, but its branches are brittle and it is not long lived.
Silver Maple is a medium to large forest tree. Leaves are green above, silvery beneath, and have five deeply V-shaped lobes with teeth on their margins. Flowers are reddish green and appear in early spring, long before leaves. In fall, the leaves usually turn pale yellow. The fruits (samaras), with their widely flaring wings, are the largest of the native maples. The fruits mature in late spring and the seeds germinate at once. Bark is smooth and gray in young trees, then becomes shaggy, breaking into long, thin vertical strips that are loose at the ends.
Silver Maple, along with Red Maple, is considered a "soft maple," in contrast to the other native maples, which have harder wood and are called "hard maples."
Along the banks of the Susquehanna River at Susquehanna SP. Also common along the banks of the Potomac River. Easily viewed along the C&o Canal.
Silver Maple is the alternate host for the Woolly Alder Aphid.
Host plant for various moth species including Maple Tip Borer Moth, Maple Bud Borer Moth, American Dagger Moth, and Banded Tussock Moth (Database of World's Lepidopteran Host Plants).
There are 237 records in the project database.
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