Striped Maple
Acer pensylvanicum
Family Aceraceae

Characteristics:
* Leaves 3 or 5-lobed, double-toothed, hairless, green on both sides. 2-10".
* Bark green with white vertical stripes. Slender trunk.
* Flowers in long clusters.
* Fruits dry, double-winged, in graceful hanging clusters.
* Height: 5-15', sometimes up to 30'.

Natural History:
* Flowers May - June.
* Fruits June - September.
* Habitat: Woods, middle elevations.
* Range: Southern Canada to southeastern United States.
* Native.

Connections!
* Striped Maple is a favorite of white-tailed deer and porcupines. Porcupines often only eat a patch of bark off the tree instead of eating all the way around the trunk and killing the tree. Why? Perhaps they want to ensure that the tree will live, and therefore provide them with future food.

* Unlike the brilliant fall foliage of its larger relatives, striped maple leaves turn a clear, delicate gold.

* Some other names for striped maple are Moosewood and Whistlewood.