Southern Sugar Maple, also known as Florida Maple, is a common medium-sized tree most frequently found in rich bottomland forests.

This species is also known as Acer barbatum Michaux or Acer saccharum ssp. floridanum.

Granville Co., NC 5/25/09.

Typical leaf form, which is slightly reminiscent of the European Hedge Maple (Acer campestre).

Granville Co., NC 5/25/09.

Southern Sugar Maple is similar to the northern Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), which occurs mostly in the Mountains in North Carolina, but the leaves of A. barbatum tend to be smaller, more compact, and are white-hairy beneath. Southern Sugar Maple is also generally of smaller stature.

The rarish Chalk Maple (Acer leucoderme) is also similar, but is an even smaller tree with yellow-hairy leaf undersides.

Granville Co., NC 5/25/09.

Petioles may be reddish, but often are not.

Granville Co., NC 5/25/09.

Granville Co., NC 5/25/09.

Granville Co., NC 5/25/09.

The leaf undersides are glaucous (whitish).

Granville Co., NC 5/25/09.

Leaf undersides are usually densely covered with white hairs.

Granville Co., NC 5/25/09.

A young twig, showing opposite petiole bases and buds.

Granville Co., NC 5/25/09.

Durham Co., NC 4/27/2002.

The shallowly lobed leaves on this large tree are most unusual, looking a bit like Chalk Maple, but they are whitish beneath.

Granville Co., NC 4/28/2002.

Yellowish-green flowers appear in early spring.

Chatham Co., NC 3/17/06.

Bark of a young tree. The bark is very pale, like that of Chalk Maple, especially when covered by cerain species of lichen, but is often stained black by mold (see below).

Granville Co., NC 4/28/2002.

Smoothish bark of a medium-sized tree.

Granville Co., NC 5/25/09.

On larger trees, the bark breaks into broad plates.

Granville Co., NC 5/25/09.

Bark of a larger tree.

Orange Co., NC 4/13/08.

Bark of a small tree. Granville Co., NC 5/20/2012.

Pale bark of a very large tree.

Caswell Co., NC 5/30/10.

Lower trunks are frequently stained black by mold growing on sap oozing out of sapsucker holes.

Durham Co., NC 4/5/2014.

Durham Co., NC 3/1/08.