Striped Maple

More info for the term: prescribed fire

The Research Project Summary Early postfire effects of a prescribed fire
in the southern Appalachians of North Carolina provides information on
prescribed fire and postfire response of plant community species, including
striped maple, that was not available when this species review was originally
written.

striped maple
moosewood
goosefoot maple
whistlewood

More info for the terms: dioecious, fruit, shrub, tree

Striped maple is a native, deciduous, tall shrub or small tree.  It
reaches a maximum height of about 45 feet (13 m), but is usually smaller
[11,16].  It has a short, forked trunk divided into a few ascending,
arching branches, forming a broad but uneven, flat-topped to rounded
crown.  The branchlets are straight and slender [6,11].  Striped maple
is primarily dioecious; monoecy is rare.  The sex ratio is male-biased.
Hibbs [9] reported that 80 percent of a Massachusetts population was
male.  The fruit of striped maple is a two-winged sumara.  The root
system is shallow and wide-spreading [6,11].

More info for the term: natural

Striped maple is widely distributed over the northeastern quarter of the
United States and adjacent southeastern Canada.  Its natural range
extends from Nova Scotia and the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec west to
southern Ontario, Michigan, and eastern Minnesota; south to northeastern
Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and in the Appalachian Mountains to
northern Georgia [6,14].

More info for the terms: fire regime, tree

Striped maple is moderately resistant to low-severity fires.  In a study
of tree survival after low-severity surface fires in Great Smoky
Mountains National Park, striped maple showed a positive correlation of
bark thickness to tree diameter growth.  Equations relating bark
thickness, tree diameter, tree diameter growth rate, and fire survival
were given [8].

FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find FIRE REGIMES".

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More info for the term: phanerophyte

  
   Phanerophyte

More info for the term: mesic

Striped maple is found on moist, acid soils in deep valleys and on cool,
moist, shaded, north-facing slopes.  In middle elevations and on mesic
sites in the Green Mountains of Vermont, it is found from 1,830 to 2,830
feet (550-830 m) in elevation.  It reaches best development below 2,430
feet (730 m) in elevation [6,9].

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This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

     5  Balsam fir
    16  Aspen
    17  Pin cherry
    18  Paper birch
    20  White pine - northern red oak - red maple
    21  Eastern white pine
    22  White pine - hemlock
    23  Eastern hemlock
    24  Hemlock - yellow birch
    25  Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
    26  Sugar maple - basswood
    27  Sugar maple
    28  Black cherry - maple
    30  Red spruce - yellow birch
    31  Red spruce - sugar maple - beech
    32  Red spruce
    35  Paper birch - red spruce - balsam fir
    44  Chestnut oak
    51  White pine - chestnut oak
    60  Beech - sugar maple
   107  White spruce

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

   FRES10  White - red - jack pine
   FRES11  Spruce - fir
   FRES15  Oak - hickory
   FRES18  Maple - beech - birch
   FRES19  Aspen - birch

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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the term: forest

   K093  Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
   K095  Great Lakes pine forest
   K096  Northeastern spruce - fir forest
   K102  Beech - maple forest
   K103  Mixed mesophytic forest
   K104  Appalachian oak forest
   K106  Northern hardwoods
   K107  Northern hardwoods - fir forest
   K108  Northern hardwoods - spruce forest

More info for the terms: crown fire, forest, seed

Striped maple establishes from seed and/or sprouts after fire [103]. 
Crown fire that burns only the upper canopy of a deciduous forest
presumably has little effect on striped maple, because striped
maple never reaches the upper canopy.  Crown fire can create
partial openings in a stand, ideal for striped maple recruitment [2,4,15].

Striped maple is an important wildlife food.  It is one of the preferred
species for rabbits, and is frequently eaten by porcupines.  The leaves
and shoots are browsed by moose, white-tailed deer, and beavers [11,12].
Ruffed grouse consume the vegetative buds [6].  The nectar is an
important food source for honeybees [1].

More info for the terms: forest, hardwood, woodland

Striped maple is a common but minor understory forest component.  It
appears as an understory species in boreal mixed woodland, and in
spruce-fir and hardwood types in northern forest regions.

The most common understory associates of striped maple include
hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium), Canada yew (Taxus canadensis),
mountain maple (Acer spicatum), oxalis (Oxalis spp.), eastern
hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), American hornbeam (Carpinus
caroliniana), serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), hawthorn (Crataegus
spp.), and pawpaw (Asimina triloba) [6,17,25].

More info for the terms: shrub, tree

Tree, Shrub

More info for the term: hardwood

When striped maple regeneration is abundant before cutting, it
frequently become the dominant species after cutting, excluding more
desirable species [10].  In northwest
Pennsylvania, when more than 30
percent of regeneration plots had more than eight striped maple
seedlings before clearcutting, this species became dominant after
cutting.  If the number of striped maple stems exceeds this percentage,
it is essential to reduce their numbers before cutting to encourage
regeneration of desirable hardwood species.  Striped maple can be
controlled with glyphosate applied with a mistblower at the rate of 1
lb/acre (1.12 kg/ha).  Best kill was achieved when applied from July 1
through September 1 [6,10].

     CT  GA  KY  ME  MD  MA  MI  MN  NH  NJ
     NY  NC  OH  PA  RI  SC  TN  VT  VA  WV
     NB  NS  ON  PE  PQ

Striped maple is occasionally planted as an ornamental [11].

More info on this topic.

Striped maple flowers from May to June.  The fruits ripen in September
and October and are dispersed in October and November [18].

More info for the terms: density, forest, root crown, tree

Striped maple probably sprouts from the root crown after fire [6].
Information regarding postfire establishment of striped maple is sparse.

On the George Washington National Forest, West Virginia, a spring prescribed
fire increased total striped maple density in a mixed-hardwood forest.
Average striped maple seedling densities before fire and in postfire year 5
were were 3,921 and 2,158 seedlings/acre, respectively; striped maple sprout
densities were 342 sprouts/acre before and 1,658 sprouts/acre 5 years after
the fire. See the Research Paper of Wendel and Smith's [26] study for details
on the fire prescription and fire effects on striped maple and 6 other tree
species.

More info for the terms: crown residual colonizer, root crown, secondary colonizer, shrub

   Tall shrub, adventitious-bud root crown
   Crown residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
   Secondary colonizer - off-site seed

More info for the terms: layering, seed, tree

Sexual reproduction: Striped maple reproduces mostly by seed.  Seed
production varies from tree to tree; some trees produce as few as 10
seeds, whereas others produce several thousand.  Seed production begins
at about 10 years of age, and large seed crops are produced every year.
The seeds are wind dispersed [6,18].

A small proportion of striped maples undergo gender change.  The gender
of such trees may differ from year to year [9,19].  In one year, in a
sample of trees taken in western Massachusetts, 27 of 243 trees changed
sex.  Most changes were from male to female [6].

Vegetative reproduction: Vegetative reproduction does not seem to play
an important part in the reproduction of striped maple.  Although it
reproduces by layering and basal sprouting, sampling of striped maple
populations showed that only 3 percent of the trees originated from
layering, and 8 percent by sprouting [6].  In general, vegetative
propagation seems to be a mechanism by which it survives suppression
rather than increases in number [6].

More info on this topic.

More info for the terms: forest, hardwood

Facultative Seral Species

Striped maple is tolerant of deep shade but develops best under moderate
light [3,16].  Rapid shoot growth can occur under low light intensity,
but the growth is etiolated.  Under direct sunlight, striped maple is
succeeded by mountain maple.  It grows well in small forest openings and
under thinned overstories that result in moderate understory lighting.
Because its maximum height growth is about 50 feet (15 m), it never
becomes a major component in the upper canopy of northern hardwood
forests.  It may, however, occupy forest openings for more than 100
years [6,21,22].

The currently accepted scientific name for striped maple is Acer
pensylvanicum L. [14].

The wood of striped maple wood is porous and fine grained, and has
occasionally been used by cabinet makers for inlay material [6].

Striped maple is a common but minor forest component, appearing as an understory species in the boreal hardwoods and in the spruce-fir and northern hardwood types of the northern forest region. It is a part of the undergrowth vegetation in 12 of the following eastern forest cover types (Society of American Foresters) (7).

17 Pin Cherry
20 White Pine - Northern Red Oak - Red Maple
22 White Pine - Hemlock
23 Eastern Hemlock
24 Hemlock -Yellow Birch
25 Sugar Maple – Beech - Yellow Birch
28 Black Cherry-Maple
30 Red Spruce - Yellow Birch
31 Red Spruce - Sugar Maple - Beech
32 Red Spruce
35 Paper Birch - Red Spruce - Balsam Fir
60 Beech - Sugar Maple

In the boreal hardwoods, striped maple is found in association with the following overstory species: pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), bigtooth aspen (P. grandidentata), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), yellow birch (B. alleghaniensis), red maple (Acer rubrum), sugar maple (A. saccharum), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), northern red oak (Quercus rubra), balsam fir (Abies balsamea), and red spruce (Picea rubens).

In the spruce-fir cover types in the northern forest region, the dominant species in association with striped maple are red spruce, gray birch (Betula populifolia), American mountain ash (Sorbus americana), American beech, and sugar maple. In the northern hardwoods, the most common overstory species are sugar maple, American beech, yellow birch, black cherry (Prunus serotina), and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) (2,13,16,42). Striped maple in the southern Appalachian Mountains appears with eastern hemlock, Carolina silverbell (Halesia carolina), yellow buckeye (Aesculus octandra), sugar maple, white basswood (Tilia heterophylla), yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea), black birch (Betula lenta), and witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) (46).

The most common understory species associated with striped maple in addition to reproduction of the overstory species are hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium), Canada yew (Taxus canadensis), mountain maple (Acer spicatum), woodsorrell (Oxalis spp.), eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), and pawpaw (Asimina triloba).

The important climatic factors within the range of striped maple are as follows: total annual precipitation, 710 to 1630 mm (28 to 64 in); normal monthly growing season precipitation (May, June, July, and August), 50 to 100 mm (2 to 4 in) in the northern and eastern part of the range and from 100 to 200 mm (4 to 8 in) in the central and southern sections; mean annual total snowfall, 5 to 250 cm (2 to 100 in) with pockets up to 500 cm (200 in); mean length of frost-free period between the last 0°C (32° F) temperature in the spring and the first 0° C (32° F) in the autumn, 90 to 210 days; and average January temperature, -12° C (10° F) to 4° C (40° F) (43).

Probably the most serious enemy of striped maple is Verticillium wilt (Verticillium albo-atrum), a soil-borne stem disease that kills the trees it attacks (12). Less destructive to the species is Cristulariella depraedens, one of the common leaf spot diseases found on a number of other maple species (36). Although Pezicula trunk and branch cankers are found on several maple species, Pezicula subcarnea attacks striped maple only (9). P acericola occasionally appears on striped maple but is most common on mountain maple.

The species is relatively free of insect attack. However, it is subject to infestation by one of the flatheaded borers, Agrilus politus, which forms stem galls (4).

No organized genetics research has been conducted in striped maple, probably because of its lack of commercial value. The species hybridizes in nature with Tatarian maple (Acer tatarium) as the female parent, resulting in the hybrid A. boscii (20). Striped maple has a chromosome complement of n=13, determined from specimens collected from several northern localities. No marked meiotic irregularities were observed. The species appears to be diploid over the northern part of its range (38).

Sex expression was studied in two different samples of 69 and 243 trees each in western Massachusetts. Results of both samples were nearly identical, implying that no genetic differences existed in sex expression between the two areas sampled and that samples came from the same population with respect to the character sampled.

Striped maple develops best under moderate light intensity. Rapid shoot growth under low light intensity can occur but the growth resembles etiolation (48). Under direct sunlight striped maple may be succeeded by mountain maple (19).

The species is well adapted to survival under heavy shade. As a suppressed understory tree, its growth and development are extremely slow. Height growth over a 10-year period may be as little as 30 cm (12 in), but trees that have been heavily suppressed for 35 to 40 years respond well to release(13,14).

Growth rate of trees following the removal of the overstory is correlated with growth rate before over-story removal, whether or not they were previously growing in a suppressed or released state. The maximum rate of growth observed among released striped maple under optimum light was 1 m (3.3 ft) per year. The species grows well in small forest openings and under a thinned overstory that results in moderate understory lighting. Because its maximum height growth is about 15 m (49 ft), it will never become a major member in the upper canopy of the northern hardwood forest cover type, though the species has been known to occupy forest openings for more than 100 years (13,14).

The species is ideally suited to expanding and developing its understory position in the forest should the situation arise. Large numbers of small trees that are capable of surviving from year to year under heavy shade await a disturbance in the upper canopy. They show an instant response to increased light even though overtopped for as long as 35 to 40 years. The species does not require full sunlight to realize its maximum growth potential but grows best under moderate lighting found in partial or small forest openings. Striped maple is classed as very tolerant of shade. Sexual reproduction in striped maple is closely associated with changes in the upper canopy, resulting in regeneration of the trees that will be stored in the understory (13,15). Asexual propagation is capable of regenerating individual trees within a few months.

Striped maple is often considered a serious silvicultural problem. When large numbers of this species occupy an understory before cutting, they frequently become the dominant vegetation after cutting, excluding more desirable species (17). In Allegheny

hardwood stands in northwestern Pennsylvania, Marquis and others (30) found that when more than 30 percent of the 1.83-m (6-ft) radius regeneration plots had more than eight striped maple seedlings before clearcutting, these species became dominant after cutting. If the number of striped maple stems exceeds these recommendations, it is essential to reduce their number before harvest cutting to permit establishment of regeneration of desirable hardwood species. Striped maple can be controlled with glyphosate applied with a mistblower at the rate of 1.12 kg/ha (1 lb/acre) a.i. Best kill was achieved when applied from July 1 through September 1 (17).

The root system of striped maple is shallow and wide-spreading (18), illustrating its adaptation to an understory position in the forest. Because it is protected from wind damage by the dominant trees in the overstory, it does not need a deep root system designed for strong support, and its shallow, spreading features make it strongly competitive for soil moisture and nutrients.

- Newly collected striped maple seeds are dormant and must receive moist stratification at 5° C (41°F) for 0 to 120 days to germinate (40). Mature seeds covered only by the current year's le

Striped maple is found on brown and gray-brown podzolic soils (orders Inceptisols, Alfisols, and Spodosols) that characterize the areas of mixed coniferous and hardwood forests. It also grows on the strongly weathered and leached podzols (order Spodosols) as well as on darker melanized soils (order Mollisols) (3,47). Compared to other species in the genus Acer, which are relatively indifferent to soil reaction, striped maple prefers acid soils (42,45). Neither the range in soil pH nor the optimum acidity level is known for the species.

Soil moisture and texture influence the local distribution of striped maple. It is common on sandy loams that are moist and well drained (23,42). A study of local distribution in western Massachusetts showed that on study plots where striped maple was present there was a positive correlation between species density and windthrow mounds that resulted in small openings in the stand. No significant correlations were found with depths of organic and A horizons, rock outcrops, or stoniness of soils (13,16).

In areas of granitic drift in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, striped maple of sapling size was most abundant (15 percent of total basal area) on soils with a matrix of sharp-angled or rounded boulders or on nearly pure weathered granite found not more than 65 cm (26 in) below the top of mineral soil (24). On wet compact till and on washed till, the species made up 6.8 percent and 7.3 percent of the stand basal area, respectively It is one of five species that seems to be permanent and abundant in local distribution on a well-drained, fine, sandy loam podzol in the White Mountains (23).

Striped maple and its associates are found on glaciated knoll tops and slopes in Quebec (26). In the mountainous areas of New England, it develops best at elevations between 550 and 800 m (1,800 and 2,600 ft) (2,42). It apparently does not do well at higher elevations in the northeast. In two transects beginning at 610 and 630 m (2,000 and 2,070 ft) at different locations in the white Mountains of New Hampshire, striped maple was only 2 to 4 percent of the basal area of the forest stand (25). It dropped out completely between elevations of 830 and 860 m (2,720 and 2,820 ft).

Density of striped maple in western Massachusetts increased with a slope up to 450 and with an elevation up to 700 m (2,300 ft) (13,16). Growth increased on northerly facing, local aspects and on steeper slopes and towards the top of slopes. In the southern Appalachian Mountains, the species is common on mesic sites with an elevation between 760 and 1370 m (2,500 and 4,500 ft); above this elevation it disappears very rapidly (46).

Striped maple attains its best growth on shaded, cool northern slopes in deep valleys (18). It can exist under a number of different combinations of environmental factors, but as a mesophyte it favors habitats where moisture conditions are moderate.

Probably the most important use of striped maple is for wildlife food. It is one of the preferred species for rabbits and is frequently eaten by porcupines (6,34). It provides browse for deer and moose, though the net energy derived from winter browse is relatively low (27,32,44). The samaras are eaten, to a limited extent, by ruffed grouse (22). when Populus species are lacking, striped maple is eaten by beavers and it is browsed by woodland caribou during summer months (41,44).

Striped maple is occasionally planted as an ornamental tree. Because it does poorly in full sun-light, it must be planted with other species. It was introduced into England about 1760, and into continental Europe shortly thereafter where reportedly it reached heights of 9 to 12 m (30 to 40 ft) with trunk diameters up to 45 cm (18 in).

The wood of the species is diffuse-porous, white, and fine grained, and on occasions has been used by cabinet makers for inlay material. Botanists who visited North America in the early 18th century found that farmers in the American colonies and in Canada fed both dried and green leaves of the species to their cattle during the winter. when the buds began to swell in the spring, they turned their horses and cows into the woods to browse on the young shoots.

An active antitumor substance has been isolated from striped maple, and tests are underway to determine its practical application (10).

Vegetative reproduction does not seem to play an important part in the reproduction of the species. Although striped maple reproduces by layering and basal sprouting, sampling of a striped maple population showed that only 3 percent of the trees originated from layering and 8 percent by sprouting (15). In general, natural vegetative propagation of the species seems to be a mechanism by which it survives suppression rather than increasing its numbers. The first leaves of sprouts are small, with coarse serrations, and are unlobed. Sprouting begins relatively soon after a tree dies. Sprouts appeared around the main stem of understory trees within 2 months after main stems were killed in a prescribed burn.

In vitro culture of striped maple has been successful. Callus tissue was formed in a medium consisting of a mixture of coconut milk, naphthalene acetic acid, sucrose, and salt (31).

William J. Gabriel and Russell S. Walters

Striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum) (8), also called moosewood, is a small tree or large shrub identified by its conspicuous vertical white stripes on greenish-brown bark. It grows best on shaded, cool northern slopes of upland valleys where it is common on welldrained sandy loams in small forest openings or as an understory tree in mixed hardwoods. This very slow growing maple may live to be 100 and is probably most important as a browse plant for wildlife, although the tree is sometimes planted as an ornamental in heavily shaded areas (33,37).

Acer pensylvanicum, known as the striped maple, moosewood, moose maple or goosefoot maple, is a small North American species of maple. The striped maple is a sequential hermaphrodite, meaning that it can change its sex throughout its lifetime.