Family: Aceraceae, Maple view all from this family

Description Small tree with short trunk and open crown of striped, upright branches and coarse foliage; often a shrub.
Height: 30' (9 m).
Diameter: 8" (20 cm).
Leaves: opposite; 5-7" (13-18 cm) long and nearly as wide. With 3 short broad long-pointed lobes at tip; doubly saw-toothed; with 3 main veins from base; with rust-colored hairs when young and in vein angles; stout leafstalk. Light green above, paler beneath; turning yellow in autumn.
Bark: bright green with white stripes, becoming reddish-brown with long pale vertical lines; thin; smooth or warty.
Twigs: green, becoming striped with whitish lines.
Flowers: 3/8" (10 mm) wide; bell-shaped; with 5 bright yellow petals; slender-stalked; male and female usually in separate clusters to 6" (15 cm) long; drooping at end of leafy twigs; in late spring.
Fruit: 1 1/4" (3 cm) long; many paired, widely forking keys; long-winged, light brown, 1-seeded; maturing in autumn.

Habitat Moist upland soils in understory of hardwood forests.

Range S. Ontario east to Nova Scotia, south to n. Georgia, and west to s. Minnesota; to 5500' (1676 m).

Discussion Striped Maple is easily recognized, even in winter, by the striped twigs and bark, which make it a popular ornamental. Rabbits, beavers, deer, and moose eat the bark, especially in winter.