Acer circinatum
Vine maple
Family: Sapindaceae · Type: shrub · Native
Vine maple is a California native shrub found in northern and central California's Northwest, High Cascade Range, and northern Sierra Nevada in shaded streambank habitats at elevations below 1,500 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces small greenish-white flowers in terminal clusters before its leaves emerge. Growing as a sprawling shrub or small tree 1 to 6 meters tall with branches that occasionally root, it develops distinctive, wide maple leaves 5.5 to 9 centimeters long with 7 to 9 sharply toothed lobes. Its leaves are pale green underneath, with a broad shape that spreads to 9 centimeters wide and features pronounced lobing across one-quarter to one-half of the leaf surface. The fruit develops distinctive winged seeds that spread at an angle of 160 to 210 degrees, creating an elegant botanical display.
Habitat: Shaded streambanks
Bloom period: May-Jun
Elevation: < 1500 m
Bioregions: n&c NW, CaRH, n SN
California counties: Trinity, Humboldt, Del Norte, Siskiyou, Shasta, Mendocino, Butte, Riverside, Tuolumne, San Francisco, Lake
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.