BIGLEAF MAPLE
acer macrophyllum

• also known as Broadleaf Maple, Oregon Maple
• well named as its leaves are enormous with stems often as long as the leaf

UNIQUE FEATURES:

• largest and fastest growing maple in Canada
• narrow crown supported by a branch-free stem for half its length when grown in the forest
• when grown in the open, a few large, spreading branches support a broad crown
• seeds are food for small mammals and birds
• twigs are food for elk and deer
• often draped in mosses

LOCATION:

• southwest corner of British Columbia
• low to mid elevations
• coarse, gravelly, moist soils such as found near river, lake and stream edges

SIZE:

• up to 36 metres

FLOWERS:

• small, greenish-yellow purple when young. The pollen cones are yellow in colour
• about 3 mm across
• hang in clusters

FRUIT:

• two winged seeds that are joined as the base
• 3 to 6 cm, hairy
• often stay on the tree after leaves have fallen

LEAVES:

• thick, large (15 to 30 cm across), five to seven lobes
• shiny, dark green on top, paler on the bottom
• turn yellow then brown in the fall
• will bleed a milky, sticky juice from the broken end of a picked leaf

BARK:

• greyish-brown
• as the tree ages becomes shallowly grooved

WOOD CHARACTERISTICS:

• close grain, moderate hardness

USES:

• modern - furniture, interior finishing, musical instruments, flowers can be used in salads
• traditional - wood: dishes, pipes, clothing hooks, paddles; inner bark: baskets, rope and whisks; young shoots: eaten; sap: type of maple syrup