Not dainty of its soil, but thriving equally well in a bog or upon a
fertile river-bank, by the side of a stream or upon a dry eminence;
coming forth in the spring, like morning in the east, arrayed in crimson
and purple; bearing itself not proudly, but gracefully, in modest green,
among the more stately trees in summer; and, ere it bids adieu to the
season, stepping forth in robes of gold, vermilion, crimson, and
variegated scarlet, stands the queen of the American forest, the pride
of all eyes and the delight of every picturesque observer of nature,—the
Red Maple. There are but few trees that surpass it in general beauty of
form and proportion, and in the variety and splendor of its autumnal
tints it is not equalled by any known tree. Without this species, the
American forest would hardly be distinguished from that of Europe by any
superiority of tinting. It stands among the occupants of the forest like
Venus among the planets, the brightest in the midst of brightness, and
the most beautiful in a constellation of beauty.
The Red Maple is a tree of second magnitude, very comely at all periods
of its growth, producing many branches, forming a somewhat pyramidal top
while young, but expanding into a round head as it grows old. It is very
evenly subdivided, the central shaft seldom being distinguished above
the lower junction of its principal branches. The leaves are palmate, of
rather a pale green, and the spray, though neat and elegant, does not
equal that of the lime or the birch. We associate this tree with the
valleys and lowlands, but a wet soil is not necessary for its
prosperity. Some of the finest single trees I have known were standing
upon a dry soil; but a forest of them is always located in a swamp.
The Red Maple is one of the most common trees in the southern parts of
New England, and it occupies a very wide geographical range. In the
North it first appears in the latitude of Quebec. It seems to avoid the
company of the rock maple, and forms no large assemblages above the
northern boundary of Massachusetts, below which the kindred species
becomes rare in New England. The Red Maple is abundant in all the
Atlantic States, as far as Florida, and there is no other tree that
occupies so large a proportion of the wet lands in the Middle States.
According to Michaux, it is the last tree which is found in swamps, as
we approach the boundary of vegetation.
Preference is generally given to the other two species for planting by
waysides and in pleasure-grounds in Massachusetts, because they are more
luxuriant in their growth. Perhaps they are chosen for the sake of
variety, being less common in the woods of this State than the Red
Maple; and being planted from nurseries, and costly, they are found
chiefly in dressed grounds. But the Red Maple is far more interesting
and beautiful than any other species, and its lighter foliage, more airy
habit, and more delicate spray bring it into better harmony with wild
and rude scenery, as the paler and less luxuriant wild flowers better
adorn a wood-path than the more showy denizens of the garden. The Red
Maple bears a profusion of crimson flowers in the spring, and from them
it derives its name. When the flowers have dropped their petals, the
keys, or fruit-pods, that succeed them, retain the same crimson hue for
some days, gradually fading into brown as they mature.