Many people will easily recognize the common name of this tree — found throughout the eastern half of North America. Your challenge is to identify it to the species level. When you know the name of this plant — both the full common name and the full scientific name — please post it in a comment below. Also, everyone is welcome to share a personal story about this tree.
Twig in late winter
Twig tip
Flowers
Fruits (seeds)
Seedling
Leaves in summer
Bark
Medium-sized tree
Branch pattern
Leaves in fall
Leaves in fall
ANSWER (subsequently added to this post to facilitate the “search” function for these images): Red maple (Acer rubrum)
Also, read the blog post and watch the plant portrait video for Red maple (Acer rubrum).
Ok….it’s got to be a red maple – looked up scientific name – Acer rubrum.
Yes, Claire, this is a Red maple (Acer rubrum). A significant identifying characteristic are the red buds, red leaf stems and red tips of twigs throughout the year. And this tree can easily have autumn leaves of red, yellow or orange.