Description:

Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) is a medium-sized tree of short bole and quickly branching crown common in the Eastern United States where it is also called soft maple, river maple, silverleaf maple, swamp maple, water maple, and white maple. It is found on stream banks, flood plains, and lake edges where it grows best on better-drained, moist alluvial soils. Growth is rapid in both pure and mixed stands and the tree may live 130 years or more.

Silver maple is cut and sold with red maple (A. rubrum) as soft maple lumber. The winged seeds are the largest of any of the native maple. They are produced in great abundance annually, providing many birds and small mammals with food. An attractive tree with delicate and graceful foliage, silver maple is often planted as an ornamental.