Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Acer macrophyllum

big-leaf maple, Oregon maple
Habit Large trees, to 30+ m, functionally monoecious; sap milky.
Stems

twigs greenish brown to brown;

bud scales imbricate.
Leaves

simple;

blade pale green abaxially, shiny dark green adaxially, (5–)8–25 × (5–)10–35 cm, base hastate to shallowly cordate, margins entire or coarsely and remotely dentate/lobulate, abaxial surface sparingly pubescent, adaxial surface glabrous, not mottled, lobes usually 5, apex obtuse, sinuses 1/2+ blade length, at least some more than 2/3 blade length, rounded at base, often narrowly so.
Inflorescences

axillary, panicles.
Flowers

5–6-merous;

sepals distinct, yellowish to yellowish green, 3–7 mm;

petals yellowish to yellowish green, 3–7 mm;

disc amphistaminal.
Samaras

25–60(–70) mm, hispid-hirsute, wings spreading at 50–90°.
2n

=26.

Acer macrophyllum
Phenology Flowering Mar–May; fruiting Apr–Sep.
Habitat Stream banks, moist canyons, rocky slopes, bases of talus slopes, especially in coniferous forests.
Elevation 0–2400 m. [0–7900 ft.]
Distribution
map from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Acer macrophyllum is native to the forests of the western United States and southwestern Canada, largely in and west of the Cascade Ranges, Sierra Nevada, and Southern California mountains, where it is a striking component as one of the few broad-leaved trees. In the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, it has evolved the largest leaves present in the genus. Southward, leaf size reduces and shapes vary. It also has densely hispid-hirsute fruits, making this species one of the most distinctive maples in North America.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Parent taxa Sapindaceae > Acer
Sibling taxa
A. campestre, A. circinatum, A. floridanum, A. ginnala, A. glabrum, A. grandidentatum, A. leucoderme, A. negundo, A. nigrum, A. palmatum, A. pensylvanicum, A. platanoides, A. pseudoplatanus, A. rubrum, A. saccharinum, A. saccharum, A. spicatum
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 267. (1813)
Source FNA vol. 13. Treatment authors: Alan S.Weakley, R. Kevan Schoonover McClelland, Thomas J.Delendick†.
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Boraginaceae and Polemoniaceae.)

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers