Paperbark Maple

Paperbark Maple

Acer griseum

Aceraceae (Maple Family)

▲ ▼ trees

▲ ▼ leaves

▲ fruit

▲ ▼ trunks with peeling rust-red bark

▲ peeling bark on older tree

Location on campus: south of Plaster Student Union

Acer griseum: Paperbark Maple

• leaves opposite, deciduous, trifoliate; leaflets dark-green to blue-green above, lighter green and pubescent below; leaves 3-6" long; leaflets 2-2.5" long and 2 as wide; orange to red fall color
• stems brown, pubescent when young; turning cinnamon brown with peeling bark with age
• bark is cinnamon brown and exfoliating-- very attractive
• prefers full sun to partial shade and moist, well-drained soils, but tolerates compacted soils
• grows 20-30' tall and 2 as wide
• slow growth rate
• similar species: Three-Flowered Maple (Acer triflorum) has more tan-gray bark, rather than the cinnamon-brown/orange bark of Paperbark maple