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Big Leaf Maple
Acer macrophyllum
  
About Big Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) 51 Nurseries Carry This Plant Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) is quite a large deciduous tree. Its trunk can get up to 3 feet in diameter. It is native to western North America, mostly near the Pacific coast, from southernmost Alaska south to Southern California. Some stands are also found inland in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California, and a tiny population occurs in central Idaho.

It is winter deciduous, featuring large palmate leaves typical of maples. It produces nice fall color where temperatures become cold enough. It is very fast growing but may be too large for most residential gardens.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Tree

Size
Size
30 - 114.8 ft tall
65 ft wide

Form
Form
Upright, Rounded, Upright Columnar

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Dormancy
Dormancy
Winter Deciduous

Flower Color
Flower Color
Yellow, Pink

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Winter

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 2 confirmed , 85 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Moderate - High

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Keep moist

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
moderately easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 5° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers clay or loamy soil, tolerates sandy soil. Tolerates Serpentine Soil. Soil PH: 5.5 - 7.5

Common uses
Common uses
Bird Gardens, Deer Resistant, Butterfly Gardens

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: 1.5-2 mos. stratification; use fresh seeds.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
1, 2, 3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Streambanks and canyons where it will receive abundant moisture. Adjacent to chaparral, grassland, woodland or pine forest

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 5.8" - 133.8", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 4.51", Coldest Month: 29.4" - 58.4", Hottest Month: 47.3" - 87.1", Humidity: 0.01" - 37.68", Elevation: 3" - 8910"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Bigleaf Maple, Oregon Maple


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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