Acer rubrum

Acer rubrum, the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is a North American tree species. Many of its features, especially its deciduous leaves, are quite variable in form. At maturity, it often attains a height around 30 metres (100 ft). Its flowers, petioles, twigs, and seeds are all red to varying degrees. Red maple is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. Its distribution ranges from southeastern Manitoba around the Lake of the Woods on the border with Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to Florida, and southwest to East Texas. Over most of its range, red maple is adaptable to a very wide range of site conditions. It can be found growing in swamps, on poor, dry soils, and almost anywhere in between from sea level to about 900 m (3,000 ft). Due to its attractive red fall foliage and pleasing form, it is often used as a shade tree for landscapes. It is used commercially on a small scale for maple syrup production and for its lumber, which is of medium to high quality.