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Aceraceae (the maple family)

Discover the beauty and characteristics of various maples species native to Delaware, from Japanese maples to red maples, alongside related species like witch-hazel and sycamore. Explore their unique features, habitats, and ecological roles in this informative guide.

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Aceraceae (the maple family)

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  1. Aceraceae (the maple family) • 2 genera worldwide • Acer is the only North American genus • Opposite leaves and branching • Fruits are winged samaras in pairs, joined at the base • Some species are commercially important • Acer palmatum (Japanese maple) is a common ornamental in DE • The Hard Maples • U-shaped leaf sinuses • Very hard wood • The Soft Maples • V-shaped leaf sinuses • Softer wood

  2. box-elder Acer negundo (Aceraceae) • Our only native maple with compound leaves • Native throughout Delaware • Lives alongside streams and in floodplains • Not much commercial or wildlife value • Shade tolerant

  3. Norway maple Acer platanoides (Aceraceae) • Bleeds a milky sap when leaves are pulled off • U-shaped sinuses, 5-7 lobes • Widely divergent samaras in the fall • INVASIVE EXOTIC

  4. Acer platanoides

  5. red maple Acer rubrum (Aceraceae) • V-shaped sinuses, 3-5 lobes, simple leaves, palmate veins • In fall, petioles, samaras, and leaves turn red • Twigs reddish • Bark light gray, gets platy when older with big vertical plates • Samaras narrowly divergent like a U, in spring • All habitats • Intermediate shade tolerance • Used for pulp, furniture. • Planted a lot in towns and yards. • Delaware’s most abundant tree

  6. Acer rubrum has variable bark.

  7. Acer rubrum bark

  8. silver maple Acer saccharinum (Aceraceae) • V-shaped sinuses, 5 lobes, long terminal lobe, pale below • Twigs smell bad when broken • Shaggy light gray or tan bark • Samaras in spring, biggest of all maples • Native in DE only in the Piedmont • Streams and swamps • Shade-intolerant • Minimal commercial value • OK food value for wildlife but good for nesting • Frequently planted as an ornamental

  9. Acer saccharinum bark

  10. sugar maple Acer saccharum (Aceraceae) • Leaves look a lot like Norway maple • Does not bleed a white sap • Samaras are less divergent • Shaggy bark • A northern tree native to the DE Piedmont • Prefers moist sites • Very shade tolerant and late-successional • Very valuable commercially • Maple syrup

  11. Acer saccharum

  12. Ebenaceae (the ebony family) • 5 genera worldwide • Mainly tropical • We have 1 genus in the U.S. -- Diospyros -- with one species • native to Delaware • True ebony wood comes from a tropical Diospyros species Ebony wood Persimmon wood

  13. persimmon Diospyrosvirginiana(Ebenaceae) • Leaves ovate, entire, nondescript • Buds dark brown & triangular • Bark blocky like alligator skin • Fruit a berry, bitter when green but then sweet • Native throughout Delaware • A small tree with some shade tolerance but usually found in hedgerows and edges • Berries are favored by wildlife • Golf club heads, pool cues, tool handles

  14. Hamamelidaceae (the witch-hazel family) • About 25 genera with 100 species around the world • Two species native to Delaware, including a tree and a shrub • Leaves alternate, simple • Fruit is a capsule

  15. witch-hazel Hamamelis virginiana (Hamamelidaceae)

  16. sweetgumLiquidambar styraciflua(Hamamelidaceae)

  17. Platanaceae (the sycamore family) • Monotypic family with a single genus, Platanus • One species native to Delaware • The hybrid known as London planetree is planted ornamentally • Leaves alternate, simple, deciduous. Petiole base completely encircles the bud. • Fruit is a multiple of achenes • Twigs zig-zag. Stipular scars encircle the twig as in Magnoliaceae.

  18. sycamore Platanusoccidentalis(Platanaceae)

  19. sycamore Platanusoccidentalis(Platanaceae)

  20. Cornaceae (the dogwood family) • 120 species worldwide • Leaves have entire margins • Opposite or alternate • Fruit = drupe or berry

  21. flowering dogwood Cornus florida (Cornaceae) • Opposite elliptical leaves with entire margins • Arcuate venation • Blocky alligator skin bark • White “flowers” in spring (4 bracts) • Common throughout Delaware • Forest understory • Very shade tolerant • Wildlife eat drupes • Not much commercial value • Dogwood anthracnose

  22. silky dogwood Cornusamomum(Cornaceae) • Like flowering dogwood, except: • Smaller leaves that are fuzzy when young • Drupes are blue • Twigs are reddish • Just a shrub • Native throughout Delaware • Grows next to streams and ponds, where C. florida is never found • Leaning form

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