It quickly grows above weed competition and provides shade for streams. It is favored as a riparian restoration tree due to its adaptability, vigor and growth rate, and size and stature. When young, the bark is smooth and grayish brown, later becoming darker brown with interlacing ridges and furrows.Ĭonservation Uses: Big Leaf Maple has many uses as a conservation species. Leaves are palmate and reach up to 15 inches across. It often develops several trunks, particularly when pruned.

Color: brown.Īppeal: Distinguished by its beautiful autumn colors of yellow, gold, and copper, this deciduous tree is fast growing, reaching 50-100 feet in height with a crown of over 60 feet in width, making it a terrific shade tree. Each flower is pale yellow, about 3 mm across.įruits: Typical maple-keys with two wings that spread out in a V- shape, called a samara. In the spring and summer leaves are dark green above and pale green below, then turning dull yellow in autumn.įlowers: Ten to fifty flowers hang in loose clusters 5 cm (2 in) long that either appear with leaves or right before the emergence of leaves. Leaves: Leaves are palmate shaped with five lobes, 10-30 cm (4-12 in) across, oppositely arranged on the branch.

Old bark is often covered with thick mats of mosses, lichens and ferns.

Stems: Bark is initially green, later becoming grey-brown and narrowly furrowed with age. At a Glance: A tree with a large, often multi-stemmed trunk and a loose, broad crown of large leaves.

Norway maple vs big leaf maple