Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Acer pensylvanicum
Introductory
SPECIES: Acer pensylvanicum
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Coladonato, Milo. 1993. Acer pensylvanicum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/ace/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
ACEPEN
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
ACPE
COMMON NAMES :
striped maple
moosewood
goosefoot maple
whistlewood
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for striped maple is Acer
pensylvanicum L. [14].
LIFE FORM :
Tree, Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Acer pensylvanicum
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Striped maple is widely distributed over the northeastern quarter of the
United States and adjacent southeastern Canada. Its natural range
extends from Nova Scotia and the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec west to
southern Ontario, Michigan, and eastern Minnesota; south to northeastern
Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and in the Appalachian Mountains to
northern Georgia [6,14].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES10 White - red - jack pine
FRES11 Spruce - fir
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
FRES19 Aspen - birch
STATES :
CT GA KY ME MD MA MI MN NH NJ
NY NC OH PA RI SC TN VT VA WV
NB NS ON PE PQ
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
NO-ENTRY
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K093 Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
K095 Great Lakes pine forest
K096 Northeastern spruce - fir forest
K102 Beech - maple forest
K103 Mixed mesophytic forest
K104 Appalachian oak forest
K106 Northern hardwoods
K107 Northern hardwoods - fir forest
K108 Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
5 Balsam fir
16 Aspen
17 Pin cherry
18 Paper birch
20 White pine - northern red oak - red maple
21 Eastern white pine
22 White pine - hemlock
23 Eastern hemlock
24 Hemlock - yellow birch
25 Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
26 Sugar maple - basswood
27 Sugar maple
28 Black cherry - maple
30 Red spruce - yellow birch
31 Red spruce - sugar maple - beech
32 Red spruce
35 Paper birch - red spruce - balsam fir
44 Chestnut oak
51 White pine - chestnut oak
60 Beech - sugar maple
107 White spruce
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Striped maple is a common but minor understory forest component. It
appears as an understory species in boreal mixed woodland, and in
spruce-fir and hardwood types in northern forest regions.
The most common understory associates of striped maple include
hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium), Canada yew (Taxus canadensis),
mountain maple (Acer spicatum), oxalis (Oxalis spp.), eastern
hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), American hornbeam (Carpinus
caroliniana), serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), hawthorn (Crataegus
spp.), and pawpaw (Asimina triloba) [6,17,25].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Acer pensylvanicum
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
The wood of striped maple wood is porous and fine grained, and has
occasionally been used by cabinet makers for inlay material [6].
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Striped maple is an important wildlife food. It is one of the preferred
species for rabbits, and is frequently eaten by porcupines. The leaves
and shoots are browsed by moose, white-tailed deer, and beavers [11,12].
Ruffed grouse consume the vegetative buds [6]. The nectar is an
important food source for honeybees [1].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Striped maple is occasionally planted as an ornamental [11].
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
When striped maple regeneration is abundant before cutting, it
frequently become the dominant species after cutting, excluding more
desirable species [10]. In northwest
Pennsylvania, when more than 30
percent of regeneration plots had more than eight striped maple
seedlings before clearcutting, this species became dominant after
cutting. If the number of striped maple stems exceeds this percentage,
it is essential to reduce their numbers before cutting to encourage
regeneration of desirable hardwood species. Striped maple can be
controlled with glyphosate applied with a mistblower at the rate of 1
lb/acre (1.12 kg/ha). Best kill was achieved when applied from July 1
through September 1 [6,10].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Acer pensylvanicum
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Striped maple is a native, deciduous, tall shrub or small tree. It
reaches a maximum height of about 45 feet (13 m), but is usually smaller
[11,16]. It has a short, forked trunk divided into a few ascending,
arching branches, forming a broad but uneven, flat-topped to rounded
crown. The branchlets are straight and slender [6,11]. Striped maple
is primarily dioecious; monoecy is rare. The sex ratio is male-biased.
Hibbs [9] reported that 80 percent of a Massachusetts population was
male. The fruit of striped maple is a two-winged sumara. The root
system is shallow and wide-spreading [6,11].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Phanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Sexual reproduction: Striped maple reproduces mostly by seed. Seed
production varies from tree to tree; some trees produce as few as 10
seeds, whereas others produce several thousand. Seed production begins
at about 10 years of age, and large seed crops are produced every year.
The seeds are wind dispersed [6,18].
A small proportion of striped maples undergo gender change. The gender
of such trees may differ from year to year [9,19]. In one year, in a
sample of trees taken in western Massachusetts, 27 of 243 trees changed
sex. Most changes were from male to female [6].
Vegetative reproduction: Vegetative reproduction does not seem to play
an important part in the reproduction of striped maple. Although it
reproduces by layering and basal sprouting, sampling of striped maple
populations showed that only 3 percent of the trees originated from
layering, and 8 percent by sprouting [6]. In general, vegetative
propagation seems to be a mechanism by which it survives suppression
rather than increases in number [6].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Striped maple is found on moist, acid soils in deep valleys and on cool,
moist, shaded, north-facing slopes. In middle elevations and on mesic
sites in the Green Mountains of Vermont, it is found from 1,830 to 2,830
feet (550-830 m) in elevation. It reaches best development below 2,430
feet (730 m) in elevation [6,9].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Facultative Seral Species
Striped maple is tolerant of deep shade but develops best under moderate
light [3,16]. Rapid shoot growth can occur under low light intensity,
but the growth is etiolated. Under direct sunlight, striped maple is
succeeded by mountain maple. It grows well in small forest openings and
under thinned overstories that result in moderate understory lighting.
Because its maximum height growth is about 50 feet (15 m), it never
becomes a major component in the upper canopy of northern hardwood
forests. It may, however, occupy forest openings for more than 100
years [6,21,22].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Striped maple flowers from May to June. The fruits ripen in September
and October and are dispersed in October and November [18].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Acer pensylvanicum
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Striped maple is moderately resistant to low-severity fires. In a study
of tree survival after low-severity surface fires in Great Smoky
Mountains National Park, striped maple showed a positive correlation of
bark thickness to tree diameter growth. Equations relating bark
thickness, tree diameter, tree diameter growth rate, and fire survival
were given [8].
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Tall shrub, adventitious-bud root crown
Crown residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Acer pensylvanicum
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Striped maple establishes from seed and/or sprouts after fire [103].
Crown fire that burns only the upper canopy of a deciduous forest
presumably has little effect on striped maple, because striped
maple never reaches the upper canopy. Crown fire can create
partial openings in a stand, ideal for striped maple recruitment [2,4,15].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Striped maple probably sprouts from the root crown after fire [6].
Information regarding postfire establishment of striped maple is sparse.
On the George Washington National Forest, West Virginia, a spring prescribed
fire increased total striped maple density in a mixed-hardwood forest.
Average striped maple seedling densities before fire and in postfire year 5
were were 3,921 and 2,158 seedlings/acre, respectively; striped maple sprout
densities were 342 sprouts/acre before and 1,658 sprouts/acre 5 years after
the fire. See the Research Paper of Wendel and Smith's [26] study for details
on the fire prescription and fire effects on striped maple and 6 other tree
species.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
The Research Project Summary Early postfire effects of a prescribed fire
in the southern Appalachians of North Carolina provides information on
prescribed fire and postfire response of plant community species, including
striped maple, that was not available when this species review was originally
written.
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Acer pensylvanicum
REFERENCES :
1. Batra, S. W. T. 1985. Red maple (Acer rubrum L.), an important early
spring food resource for honey bees and other insects. Journal of the
Kansas Entomological Society. 58(1): 169-172. [12666]
2. Bergeron, Yves; Brisson, Jacques. 1990. Fire regime in red pine stands
at the northern limit of the species range. Ecology. 71(4): 1352-1364.
[11819]
3. Clebsch, Edward E. C.; Busing, Richard T. 1989. Secondary succession,
gap dynamics, and community structure in a southern Appalachian cove
forest. Ecology. 70(3): 728-735. [6972]
4. Engstrom, F. Brett; Mann, Daniel H. 1991. Fire ecology of red pine
(Pinus resinosa) in northern Vermont, U.S.A. Canadian Journal of Forest
Research. 21: 882-889. [14997]
5. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
6. Gabriel, William J.; Walters, Russell S. 1990. Striped maple. In: Burns,
Russell M.; Honkala Barbara H, eds. Silvics of North America.
Agricultural Handbook 654. Washington D. C.: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service: 53-59. [21505]
7. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
8. Harmon, Mark E. 1984. Survival of trees after low-intensity surface
fires in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Ecology. 65(3): 796-802.
[10997]
9. Hibbs, David E. 1978. The life history and strategy of striped maple
(Acer pensylvanicum L.). Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts. 96 p.
Ph.D. dissertation. [10211]
10. Horsley, Stephen B. 1988. How vegetation can influence regeneration. In:
Smith, H. Clay; Perkey, Arlyn W.; Kidd, William E., Jr, eds. Guidelines
for regenerating Appalachian hardwood stands: Workshop proceedings; 1988
May 24-26; Morgantown, WV. Society of American Foresters Publ. 88-03.
Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Books: 38-54. [13544]
11. Hosie, R. C. 1969. Native trees of Canada. 7th ed. Ottawa, ON: Canadian
Forestry Service, Department of Fisheries and Forestry. 380 p. [3375]
12. Krefting, Laurtis W. 1974. The ecology of the Isle Royale Moose with
special reference to the habitat. Tech. Bull. 297, Forestry Series 15.
Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, Agricultural Experiment
Station. 75 p. [8678]
13. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
14. Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native
and naturalized). Agric. Handb. 541. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 375 p. [2952]
15. Loope, Walter L. 1991. Interrelationships of fire history, land use
history, and landscape pattern within Pictured Rocks National Seashore,
Michigan. Canadian Field-Naturalist. 105(1): 18-28. [5950]
16. Marquis, Robert J.; Passoa, Steven. 1989. Seasonal diversity and
abundance of the herbivore fauna of striped maple Acer pensylvanicum L.
(Aceraceae) in western Virginia. American Midland Naturalist. 122:
313-320. [9274]
17. Nichols, George E. 1913. The vegetation of Connecticut. II. Virgin
forests. Torreya. 13(9): 199-215. [14069]
18. Olson, David F., Jr.; Gabriel, W. J. 1974. Acer L. maple. In:
Schopmeyer, C. S., technical coordinator. Seeds of woody plants in the
United States. Agric. Handb. 450. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service: 187-194. [7462]
19. Primack, Richard B.; McCall, Claire. 1986. Gender variation in a red
maple population (Acer rubrum: Aceraceae): a seven-year study of a
"polygamodioecious" species. American Journal of Botany. 73(9):
1239-1248. [12609]
20. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
21. Roberts, Mark R. 1992. Stand development and overstory-understory
interactions in an aspen- northern hardwoods stand. Forest Ecology and
Management. 54: 157-174. [19949]
22. Sakai, Ann K.; Roberts, Mark R.; Jolls, Claudia L. 1985. Successional
changes in a mature aspen forest in northern lower Michigan: 1974-1981.
American Midland Naturalist. 113(2): 271-282. [4450]
23. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
24. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
25. Wendel, G. W. 1990. Prunus pensylvanica L. f. pin cherry. In: Burns,
Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., technical coordinators. Silvics of
North America. Volume 2. Hardwoods. Agric. Handb. 654. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 587-593. [13971]
26. Wendel, G. W.; Smith, H. Clay. 1986. Effects of a prescribed fire in
a central Appalachian oak-hickory stand. NE-RP-594. Broomall, PA: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment
Station. 8 p. [73936]
FEIS Home Page
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