ACER SACCHARINUM Linnæus. Silver Maple. (× 1/2.)] =3. Acer rùbrum= Linnæus. Red Maple. Soft Maple. Swamp Maple. Plate 113. Medium to large sized trees; bark of small trees smooth and gray, becoming dark brown on old trees, somewhat furrowed and scaly; branchlets smooth and reddish; twigs generally smooth but sometimes hairy, becoming glabrous by autumn; leaves 5-12 cm. long, 3-5 lobed, more or less cordate at the base, sometimes truncate or rounded, sinuses acute, those of 3-lobed leaves generally wider angled than those of 5-lobed ones, the lobes more or less irregularly serrate or dentate, hairy while young, glabrous above and more or less hairy beneath at maturity, glaucous beneath; flowering period March or April; flowers red or reddish, in the axils of the leaves of the previous year, the staminate and pistillate in separate clusters on the same or different trees; fruit maturing late in spring, on pedicels 3-8 cm. long, generally red, sometimes green, glabrous at maturity, rarely somewhat pubescent, 1.5-3.5 cm. long. =Distribution.=--Newfoundland to Florida, west to Minnesota and south to Texas. It is found in all parts of Indiana. Its preferred habitat is that of low ground about lakes, swamps, along streams and in the "flats" in the southeast part of the State. Throughout its range in Indiana where it is found in low ground, it is in places rich in organic matter, except in the "flats" of the southern part of the State where it grows in a hard clay soil with sweet gum, red birch, etc. In contrast the silver maple is generally found growing in wet places with little organic matter; especially is this true in the lower Wabash bottoms. The red maple grows also on high ground. In the northern part of the State it is only an occasional tree of gravelly ridges or on high ground about lakes or along streams. In the southern part of the State it is a local to a frequent tree in most parts of the "knob" area where it is associated with white oak, black oak, black gum, etc. It is also an occasional tree on the top of bluffs and cliffs. =Remarks.=--The red maple is not abundant enough in Indiana to be of any economic importance. It grows rapidly and should replace the silver maple for shade tree planting since its branches are not broken off as easily by ice storms and it is more resistant to insect attack.