Acer saccharinum

Silver maple

Family: Sapindaceae · Type: tree · Not Native

Silver maple is a naturalized tree found in the Sacramento Valley in riparian woodland at elevations below 50 meters. Flowering from February to March, this tree produces small greenish flowers in dense clusters that emerge before the leaves. Growing to 20 meters tall with a spreading form, it features deeply lobed leaves with distinctive white to white-green undersides. Its large leaves measure 8 to 13 centimeters long and wide, with five lobes that are coarsely toothed and extend halfway to three-quarters of the leaf length. The fruit develops winged seeds that spread at dramatic 60 to 120 degree angles from the branch.

Habitat: Riparian woodland

Bloom period: Feb-Mar

Elevation: < 50 m

Bioregions: ScV

California counties: Glenn, Los Angeles, Orange, Inyo, Shasta, Sacramento, Butte, Sutter, Santa Clara, Yolo, Marin

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.