Acer grandidentatum (
Bigtooth Maple) is a species of
mapleAcer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as Maple. Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification, favour inclusion in Sapindaceae...
native to interior western
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
, occurring in scattered populations from western
MontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other 'island' ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
south to
CoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , is one of Mexico's 31 component states. It is located in the north of the country.To the north, Coahuila accounts for a stretch of the U.S. - Mexico border, adjacent to the U.S...
in northern
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It is closely related to
Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple), and is treated as a
subspeciesSubspecies in biological classification, is 1) a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or 2) a taxonomic unit, a taxon in that rank...
of it by some botanists, as
Acer saccharum subsp.
grandidentatum (Nutt.) Desmarais.
It is a small to medium-sized
deciduousDeciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
growing to 10–15 m tall and a trunk of 20–35 cm diameter.
Acer grandidentatum (
Bigtooth Maple) is a species of
mapleAcer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as Maple. Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification, favour inclusion in Sapindaceae...
native to interior western
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
, occurring in scattered populations from western
MontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other 'island' ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
south to
CoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , is one of Mexico's 31 component states. It is located in the north of the country.To the north, Coahuila accounts for a stretch of the U.S. - Mexico border, adjacent to the U.S...
in northern
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It is closely related to
Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple), and is treated as a
subspeciesSubspecies in biological classification, is 1) a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or 2) a taxonomic unit, a taxon in that rank...
of it by some botanists, as
Acer saccharum subsp.
grandidentatum (Nutt.) Desmarais.
It is a small to medium-sized
deciduousDeciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
growing to 10–15 m tall and a trunk of 20–35 cm diameter. The
barkBark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
is dark brown to gray, with narrow fissures and flat ridges creating plate-like scales; it is thin and easily damaged. The
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
are opposite, simple, 6–12 cm long and broad, with three to five deep, bluntly-pointed lobes, three of the lobes large and two small ones (not always present) at the leaf base; the three major lobes each have 3–5 small subsidiary lobules. The leaves turn golden yellow to red in fall (this trait is less reliable in warmer areas).
The
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
s appear with the leaves in mid spring; they are produced in corymbs of 5–15 together, each flower yellow-green, about 4–5 mm diameter, with no petals. The
fruitThe term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds, and the presence of seeds indicates that a structure is most likely a fruit, though not all seeds come from...
is a paired samara (two winged
seedA seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s joined at the base), green to reddish-pink in color, maturing brown in early fall; each seed is globose, 7–10 mm diameter, with a single wing 2–3 cm long.
It commonly grows in
limestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geologic record...
soils but can adapt to a wide range of well-drained soils, from sand to clays to even white limestone areas. It prefers valleys, canyons, and the banks of mountain streams, primarily at higher elevations such as the sheltered canyons of the
Edwards PlateauThe Edwards Plateau is a region of west-central Texas which is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north, and the Pecos River and Chihuahuan Desert to the west. San Angelo, Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio roughly outline the area...
in
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
(where a population is protected in the
Lost Maples State Natural AreaLost Maples State Natural Area is a state park in the Edwards Plateau of Texas, United States.- Location :Lost Maples State Natural Area is located about north of Vanderpool, Texas and west of San Antonio...
). Although
continental climateContinental climate is a climate that is characterized by winter temperatures cold enough to support a fixed period of snow cover each year, and relatively moderate precipitation occurring mostly in summer, although east coast areas may show an even distribution of precipitation.Regions containing...
s prevail over all of its natural range, it grows well in the maritime climate of Vancouver. It is slow growing when young, and does not have many pests.
It is occasionally planted as an ornamental tree, valued for its drought tolerance and ability to grow in rocky landscapes.
Other vernacular names occasionally used include Lost Maple, Sabinal Maple, Western Sugar Maple, Uvalde Big Tooth Maple, Canyon Maple, Southwestern Big Tooth Maple, Plateau Big Tooth Maple, Limerock Maple, Wasatch Maple and Rocky Mountain Sugar Maple.