The subdued browns, greens and grays of the forest are beginning to return to the brilliant pallet familiar to residents who venture beyond their front door. In the last days of February the slow progression of woodland colors is shifting as spring approaches.
Many plants, trees and fungi are not reflecting the awareness of the coming warm days. Still they are actively growing and preparing for their annual development and reproduction phase which is a key component to the wonderful local environment in panhandle Florida.
To those who closely observe the progression, each day brings noticeable growth of one or more early emerging species. To the casual spectator the change can be sudden and dramatic.
One of the local early blooming native trees is the red maple. Acer rubrum, as this tree is known botanically, is related to the northern red maple but a distinct species.
The scarlet red blooms make a stark contrast in the late winter landscape. The tonal disparity is a herald of the season change soon to come.
Worldwide there are about 130 identifiable species of maples. Most are located in Asia, but each continent north of the equator has a varied population. Only one has a native range in South America.
Most maples lose their leaves in autumn, but a few species in the Mediterranean range are evergreen.
Distributed throughout Florida, this red maple is a moderately sized tree which has a shorter anticipated lifespan measured in decades compared to live oaks and cypress which are measured in centuries. Even so, it is still a useful home landscape tree with several popular traits.
The vivid red blooms in late winter and early spring stand in stark contrast to the dull colors typical to the cold season. The dense flower clusters form before the leaves bud and produce seeds in pairs, each with a wing for aerial distribution on early summer breezes.
When a suitable germination site is reached, the seeds sprout and produce a quick growing shoot. At its early stage of life, this species is sometimes confused with sweet gums which have a leaf similar in appearance.
Florida’s red maple have leaves two to three inches long with distinctive lobes. Typically the three leaf lobes have few to no points on the edges.
By comparison, the sweet gums have five to seven lobes with a star-like appearance. They also produce the bur-like seed pods which collect on the ground beneath the trees where they often require removal if in an area where foot traffic is expected.
Red maple wood is relatively soft and infrequently used for commercial woodworking.
As spring turns to summer, the red maples can fade into the green background of north Florida. The heavy foliage on the branches creates a shady environment for understory plants which grow beneath this tree.
When autumn arrives the local red maple earns its common name. Leaves assume a distinctive red but can turn orange and yellow, another feature which occasionally confuses them with sweet gums which produce similar leaf tones.
The wood produced by this local maple species is relatively soft. With no planted acreage and a relatively limited population, this tree is infrequently used for commercial woodworking applications.
When exposed to high winds limb breakage can be a problem. When its leaves are green during the early months of hurricane season the excess wind resistance may result in this tree’s destruction.
Problems aside, it is a dependable season-change messenger. This native forecaster has a spotless track record for calling the spring and autumn’s procession.
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