13. Red Maple

Continue along the dirt trail and you will find red maple to the left at the Albert & Irene Bader bench. From its flowers to twigs and leaves, red maple lives up to its name in color. Red maple is adapted to consistent precipitation and acidic soil, neither of which are present at the Arboretum. The species is a “soft” maple, being susceptible to breakage in strong winds; other soft maples include bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), boxelder maple (Acer negundo), and silver maple (Acer saccharinum).