|
Bigtooth
Maple
Common
Name(s):
Bigtooth Maple
Canyon Maple
Scientific
Name:
Acer
grandidentatum Nutt.
Scientific
Name Synonyms:
None known
Symbol:
ACGR3
Description:
Life Span: Perennial
Origin:
Native
Season: Deciduous
Growth Characteristics:
A
rather large, broadleaved shrub or small tree with a spreading,
rounded crown. Its height will average about 35 feet, and the diameter
averages 9 inches at maturity. Reproduces by wind-carried seeds
contained in winged samaras.
Flowers/Inflorescence:
Flowers
are small, yellowish, and found in clusters appearing in early spring.
Bigtooth maple usually only flowers every 2-3 years.
Fruits/Seeds:
Fruits are typical double samaras, characteristic of maples. Two
seeds are attached together at one end with extended wings projecting
from opposite ends.
Leaves: The
leaves arise from the twigs in opposing pairs. The general shape
of the leaf is nearly round, about 4 inches in diameter with several
blunt teeth around the edges. The leaf is characterized by 3, sometimes
5, lobes that fan out from the point of attachment to the leaf stalk.
Stems: Young
twigs are slender, bright red to greenish-brown, and smooth. Older
twigs are gray. Buds are reddish-colored and grow in clusters. Bark
is thin with shallow furrows and grayish flat-topped ridges. The
wood is hard, heavy, and light brown.
Ecological
Adaptations:
Bigtooth
maple is abundant in canyon bottoms, draws, and moist mountain sites,
but can also be found in dryer areas. It is generally found between
4,500 and 7,500 feet elevation in north and central Utah.
It is shade tolerant.
Soils: Bigtooth
maple can be found on many soil types. It is intolerant of prolonged
flooding and saline or alkaline soils. It is most often found on
silty loams with a medium to rocky soil texture.
Associated Species:
Chokecherry,
boxelder, birchleaf
mountain mahogany, gambel oak, peavine,
Kentucky bluegrass,
wheatgrasses.
Uses and
Management:
Bigtooth
maple is a good ground cover tree, providing shade in canyon bottoms
for livestock and recreation areas. It is a fair source of food
for browsing wildlife and domestic livestock. The seeds, buds, and
flowers provide food for numerous species of birds and small mammals.
Understory plants are generally lacking under stands of this tree.
Because this tree is closely related to the sugar maple of the Northeastern
United States, it can and has been used as a source of sugar and
syrup. The deciduous leaves of bigtooth maple account for most of
the beautiful yellow, orange, and red coloration of our canyons
in the early fall, and are used in "Autumn leaf" displays.
|
