Form: This is a medium-sized tree reaching 50-70 ft in height and 2 ft. in dbh. It generally has a rounded crown.

Leaves:
             

Arrangement: opposite

Shape: simple; 3-5 lobed

Margin: serrate

Texture: glabrous above and glaucous below

Venation:

Bark: Very thin and light gray in color when young. It develops a scaly appearance with age. It normally peels from the top or bottom of each piece that is separating from the rest of the bark. 

Twigs and buds: Twigs have a lustrous brown appearance. They are also slender and are usually speckled with lenticels.

Flowers and fruit: Samara fruits mature in the spring.

Distinguishing characteristics: It has a serrated margin which is noticeably different from the smooth margin on sugar maple and it has shallow lobes, which distinguish it from the deep lobes of silver maple.

Range: It occurs throughout the eastern United States: north into Maine and Minnesota and south from Texas east all the way to the Atlantic coast.

Silvics: Red maple has intermediate tolerance to shade. It prefers moist bottoms, but seems to be invading drier upland sites as well.

Ecological and cultural importance: Red maple has become prolific in oak understories due to increasing mesic conditions and fire suppression.