Part 21

I. decidua Walt. known as POSSUM HAW (WINTER BERRY) is similar to yaupon, but the leaves shed in the fall; the fruits, which remain over winter, are orange to orange-scarlet in color.

SILVER MAPLE Acer saccharinum L.

Silver, or soft, maple is found on moist land and along streams in the extreme eastern part of the state. In its best region of growth, the valley of the lower Ohio River, it attains heights of 100 feet or more and diameters of 3 feet or over.

The BARK on old trunks is dark gray and broken into long flakes or scales. The twigs are slender, brittle, reddish-brown, and shiny.

The buds are rounded, red or reddish-brown, blunt-pointed, generally like those of red maple.

The simple, opposite LEAVES have from 3 to 5 lobes ending in long points with toothed margins and separated by deep angular sinuses or openings; the leaves are pale green on the upper surface, silvery-white underneath, and have a red petiole.

The FLOWERS arising from the large prominent flower buds are a greenish-yellow color and appear in clusters in the spring before the leaves. The FRUIT ripens in the spring and consists of a pair of wing samaras or “keys” with wings 1 to 2 inches long on a slender, flexible, thread-like peduncle about an inch long.

The WOOD is soft, weak, even-textured, rather brittle, easily worked, and decays readily when exposed. It is occasionally used for flooring, furniture and fuel.

The silver maple grows rapidly and has been planted in Texas as a shade tree. It is somewhat undesirable because of its brittleness and susceptibility to insects and fungus diseases.

RED MAPLE Acer rubrum L.

Red maple is abundant in low moist areas in the eastern part of the state. It is usually a medium-sized tree, quick-growing, and relatively short-lived. It is used as a shade tree, though of inferior quality for this purpose. The BARK is smooth and light gray on young limbs and trunks, and dark gray and rough on old limbs and trunks.

The LEAVES are 2 to 5 inches long and have from 3 to 5 pointed, saw-toothed lobes separated by sharp angular sinuses or openings. The upper leaf surface when mature is light green, the lower surface whitish and partly covered with pale down. In autumn the leaves turn to brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow.

The red FLOWERS appear in dense clusters in early spring before the leaves, the buds turning a deep red sometimes before they open. The winter buds are small, red, and round or blunt-pointed. The FRUIT ripens in the late spring or early summer. It consists of pairs of winged samaras, or keys, ½ to 1 inch in length, on a long drooping peduncle (fruit stem), red, reddish-brown, or yellow in color.

The WOOD, known commercially as soft maple, is heavy, close-grained, rather weak, and of a light brown color. It is used in the manufacture of furniture, and for turnery, woodenware, and fuel.

BOXELDER Acer negundo L.

Boxelder, the only Texas maple with compound leaves, is a native of eastern and southern Texas to the lower Rio Blanco River. It is generally found on the banks of streams and lakes and the borders of swamps. It grows rapidly, making a quick shade, and is quite shapely. The branches are brittle and break easily. The tree is short-lived and rather subject to disease. It sometimes attains a height of 50 to 60 feet, with a trunk 2 feet in diameter, but is usually smaller.

The BARK of the twigs is green; of the trunk grayish-brown, divided into broad, rounded ridges, and separating on the surface into short, thick scales.

The LEAVES are opposite, compound, usually with 5 leaflets, occasionally 3 or 7. The leaflets are 2 to 4 inches long, coarsely and irregularly toothed, light green above, paler beneath.

The tiny FLOWERS are borne in drooping clusters. The FRUIT is like that of the other maples, green, turning light tan when mature. Unlike the seeds of other maples, they cling until after the leaves are shed.

The WOOD is creamy-white, light, and soft and weak but close-grained. It is sometimes used in other states for the manufacture of low grade furniture and interior finish; it is also used for woodenware, cooperage, and paper pulp.

OHIO BUCKEYE Aesculus glabra Willd.

Ohio buckeye occurs as far west as eastern Texas along streams in rich soils. Though often only a shrub, it becomes a medium-sized tree in rich alluvial bottoms. Its leaves and fruit are poisonous to stock.

The BARK is white and, on old trees, divided or broken into light brown flat scales, which make the stems of the tree rough; the bark is ill-smelling when bruised.

The LEAVES are opposite, palmately compounded, with 5 to 7 smooth, pale green leaflets, ill-smelling when bruised. The leaves usually turn yellow during the summer.

The FLOWERS are cream-colored and appear in clusters, 5 to 8 inches long, in April or May.

The FRUIT is generally rounded, pale brown, generally thin-walled, roughened with blunt prickles or warts, and breaking into 2 to 3 valves, disclosing the bright shiny seeds 1 to 1½ inches wide.

The WOOD is light, soft and weak, and decays rapidly when exposed. It is used for woodenware, artificial limbs, paper pulp, lumber, and fuel.

Aesculus pavia L., the RED BUCKEYE, is found as a shrub in Comal and Wilson Counties and is common through eastern Texas to Bexar and Kendall Counties, as a shrub 9 to 12 inches high. This species was formerly classified as A. discolor Parsh and A.d. var. Mollis (Raf.) Sarg.