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It's been called swamp thing. Red maple, or swamp maple, has made
something of a reputation for itself in the forestry and logging
communities as a kind of rule-breaker and a nuisance. It's a perfectly
respectable native tree, really, but it does have the habit of coming
out of the swamps and showing up virtually everywhere. Despite its
name, only in the southernmost parts of its range does it seem to
respect swamp boundaries.
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Red Maple Leaves |
According to the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service
Handbook Silvics of North America, “Red maple is
one of the most abundant and widespread trees in eastern North
America.” Along the eastern seaboard the red maple ranges from well
into Newfoundland in the north and to extreme southern Florida in the
south.
The issue among foresters is that red maple is an “inferior” tree.
Compared to a tree like the sugar maple, for example, with its hard,
dense wood and comparatively little so-called defect, red maple is often
riddled with rot. Much of the rot is typically on the inside so the
tree can appear, by casual inspection, to be in pretty good condition.
Cutting into it, though, often tells a different story.
If red maples are growing on an upland site, they are occupying space
and using resources that could be used by more “desirable” species (not
only sugar maples). So, from a certain point of view, red maple should
just stay down in the swamps were it belongs.
But as anyone might guess, it all depends on the objective and
perspective. Wildlife—especially many cavity-nesting birds—seem to like
red maple just fine, wherever it grows. Excavating in its trunk and
branches is relatively easy and it sometimes comes with pre-made
cavities that may only need a few alterations.
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That bit on red maple is more or less by way of introduction. The
intent of this article is to build upon what was covered in
part one and to emphasize trees that
range predominantly in the southeastern United States. Of course
there's going to be overlap; humans like nice, neat boundaries and
nature doesn't, not to mention that humans often plant and cultivate
trees outside of their natural ranges.
Boxelder
Moving on—and speaking of not obeying the rules—consider the boxelder.
This is a maple tree but unlike virtually all other maples it has
compound leaves. The box elder's leaves are divided into separate
leaflets along a main leaf stem, just as in the white ash tree's
leaves. In fact, another name for boxelder is ash-leaved maple.
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Boxelder Leaves
Boxelder Fruit |
The maple leaf has become an iconic symbol, whether in a grade school
craft project or on the Canadian flag. But that stylized maple leaf is
the more “typical’ one, like that of the red maple or, especially, the
sugar maple. The boxelder didn't make the cut for a flag or a school
project for some reason.
Sweetgum
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Sweetgum Leaves and fruit
E.R. Mosher, USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database |
The sweetgum is a tree in the witch-hazel family. It’s a bit of an
oddity in appearance owing to the shape of its leaves. No other tree
native to North America has leaves quite like those of the sweetgum;
they’re more or less star-shaped. You might make the case that they’re
similar to some maple leaves but the similarity only goes so far. Keep
in mind also that maple is opposite and sweetgum is alternate. (Recall
or referred to the MAD HORSE mnemonic
from
part one.} The fruit is curious, too.
It’s a rounded, sort of warty thing about the size of a golf ball and
hangs from the twig on a thin stem.
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