Vine Maple

Schoolchildren in Oregon learn to recognize this maple by spelling out its name on the nine lobes of a leaf. Vine maples are often multi-trunked and in woodland habitat they can spread up to 20 feet, forming dense thickets. Red maple seeds (samaras) develop in spring and the leaves turn soft gold or chartreuse in the fall. This is a common plant to find in moist woods and along stream banks throughout the Pacific Northwest. We have identified only a few trees on the maps, but it is a common shrub on the Reed campus.