Norway Maple
Scientific Name: Acer platanoides
Category: tree
Brief Description
A large deciduous tree characterized by dense green foliage, broad five-lobed leaves, and winged seeds (samaras) arranged in wide-spreading pairs.
Characteristics
Medium to large tree growing up to 20-30 meters tall. Bark is dark gray-brown with shallow crisscrossing furrows. Leaves are 5-lobed, broader than they are long, with sharply pointed teeth and milky sap oozing from the petiole when broken. Flowers are yellow-green in upright clusters appearing in spring before or with the leaves.
Habitat
Urban parks, suburban streets, woodlands, and forest edges where it has often been planted as a shade tree and can become invasive.
When to Find It
Spring brings yellow-green blooms and fresh foliage, summer features dense green canopies, autumn showcases bright yellow (and occasionally reddish) fall colors, and winter reveals its broad, rounded crown and paired buds.
Conservation Status
N/A
Ecological Role
Provides shade and urban wildlife habitat, though its dense canopy often suppresses native understory vegetation, and it can outcompete native trees in naturalized areas.
Easily Confused With
Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), which has clear sap in the petiole, rounded leaf sinuses, and fewer sharp teeth; and Red Maple (Acer rubrum), which has three-toothed lobes and reddish twigs.
Observation Tips
Look for the distinctive milky sap in the leaf stems, the wide-spreading samaras, and the very dense shade cast by its canopy during the growing season.
Interesting Facts
Introduced to North America from Europe in the mid-18th century as an ornamental shade tree, it has since become considered an invasive species in several regions due to its prolific seed production and heavy shade.