Green = native to part of the Great Lakes Basin Girard’s paperbark maple ( Acer griseum x nikoense )Ī Listed cultivars have the indicated trait, but the straight species (or hybrid) may not. Alternatives for Amur MapleĬanada serviceberry ( Amelanchier canadensis )Īpple serviceberry ( Amelanchier x grandiflora ), ‘Autumn Brilliance,’ ‘Princess Diana,’ ‘Cumulus’Īmerican hornbeam ( Carpinus caroliniana ) Please see our Landscape Alternatives pages for more information about how the WIGL Collaborative selected alternatives. The leaf shape is somewhat similar to the native ninebark ( Physocarpus spp.), but ninebark has alternate leaves, while those of Amur maple are opposite. Amur maple is much smaller at maturity than any native maple species, with smaller samaras. It is most similar to Tatarian maple ( Acer tataricum ), another small exotic maple with unlobed leaves that frequently has a single main stem.

Look-alikes: Amur maple can be distinguished from other maples by its leaf shape, particularly the long middle lobe. The small size of the samaras (each side is ¾ – 1” long) along with the coloration can help distinguish from other maples. Samaras are often pink or reddish in the summer, ripening to brown. They are the papery, winged two-chambered samaras characteristic of maples. Fruits appear over the summer and mature in early-to-mid fall.

Flowers are fragrant, unlike other maples. Flowers emerging in mid spring are yellowish white, small, and born in small, branched clusters. Leaf edges are toothed, and leaves are dark green in summer, sometimes changing to yellow or red in fall (fall foliage color varies by cultivar and planting situation).

Leaves have three lobes, and the middle lobe is much longer than the side lobes. The leaves are opposite each other, and are generally 1 ½ to 3” in length. It is common for this species to grow multiple stems and for the crowns to be as wide as the plants are tall. Identification: Amur maple is a large deciduous shrub to small tree, generally 15-18’ tall at maturity.

Types of maple trees in indiana