Click on the images help you identify a silver maple.
Form
Height is 100 feet or more with a trunk diameter of up to 36 inches. Trunk is usually short but divided into a number of long, thick ascending limbs that are again divided. Small branches droop but turn upward at tips, forming a broad, rounded crown.
Bark
Bark on young branches is smooth and varying in color from reddish to a yellowish gray. Bark on old branches is dark gray and broken into long flakes or scales.
Leaf
Simple, opposite on stem, and 4 to 6 inches long. Leaves have three to five lobes ending in long points with toothed edges and separated by deep, angular openings. Color is pale green on upper surface and silvery underneath, turning pale yellow to orange in autumn. Buds rounded and red or reddish brown.
Fruit (seed)
A pair of winged seeds (samaras), 1 to 2 inches long, on slender, flexible, threadlike stems about an inch in length.
Range
Common in southern Minnesota, especially along rivers and wetland areas, and scattered northward to the upper Mississippi River. Moderately shade intolerant and fast growing.
Wood uses
Light brown, strong, fairly hard, even-textured, rather brittle, easily worked, decays readily when exposed to weather or soil. Occasionally used for flooring, furniture, and fuel. Often mixed with red maple for commercial purposes. While extensively planted as a shade and ornamental tree, it should be avoided near buildings because of its susceptibility to storm damage and tendency to decay and drop large branches. May be tapped for sap.