Plants 4 Bees :: Aceraceae

Left: Acer rubrum female, photo taken at The Morton Arboretum 4/11/04; Right: Acer rubrum male, photo taken in Clinton Co. MI 4/12/04

Scientific name	:	Acer rubrum
Common name	:	Red maple, scarlet maple, soft maple, swamp maple, water maple, plaine, or plaine rouge, Carolina red maple and Drummond red maple
Family	:	Aceraceae
Origin	:	Eastern North America
Description	:	Red maple is a rapidly growing tree (but not as rapid as silver maple) that can attain a height of 120 ft. The leaves are 2 to 5 inches long with 3 or 5 major lobes that are not as deeply cut as those of silver maple, a species with which it might be confused. Depending on the tree, the leaves turn a variety of colors in the fall that range from yellowish green to brilliant red. Those in wet sites often turn color considerably before other deciduous trees of the area. The bark of younger trees is frequently gray in color. The flowers are arranged in clusters and come out before the leaves and are generally a little later than those of silver maple. The flowers, especially the female flowers, are generally reddish, sometimes a brilliant red, while those of the males tend to be more orange colored. The trees can be male or female, or can bear both male and female flowers, along with some that have both stamens and pistils. The pedicels that attach the flowers to the stem of the plant are at first quite short, but lengthen greatly as the blooming season progresses.
Distribution	:	. Dirr[6] rates the plant as a zone 3 to 9 species. Because of its value as an ornamental, the species has been planted in many parts of North America as well as many other parts of the world. Red maple is found on wet sites along with silver maple, but also is common on well-drained upland sites where it often accompanies sugar maple, beech etc.
Blooming period	:	Red maple is one of the early bee forages and has a fairly wide range of blooming dates (late March to early May in Michigan and January to early March in Georgia [6]. Fernald provides the composite blooming date range for its natural distribution as March to May.
Importance	:	The American beekeeping literature is surprisingly quiet about the importance of red maple as a bee plant. This is most likely because it blooms so early that bees can not make good use of it. This stems from two facts. First, the colonies are not strong enough to forage efficiently and second, cold and wet weather is common during its blooming period, thus precluding foraging. Pellett[14] indicates that it is of considerable importance for nectar. Lovell[10] states that under favorable conditions, it “yields large quantities of pollen and considerable nectar,” For the species, Larsson and Shuel[9] indicate moderate foraging (2 on a 1 to 4 scale), and good nectar production (2 on a 1 to 3 scale) that sometimes yields surplus honey. Pammel and King [13] indicate that red maple is “freely visited by honeybees and considerable honey is often produced when the weather is favorable." They also indicate that they have observed this considerable attraction to honey bees in Iowa, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama.
Honey	:	I doubt that pure red maple honey has ever been collected in such a way that one could definitively say that it was collected exclusively from that species. Pellett[14], based on a report from a Michigan beekeeper, mentions that the honey is amber and of “rather poor quality”, but it is not clear if he is talking about maples in general or about red maple specifically. Larsson and Shuel[9] describe the honey as pale amber to greenish without much flavor or aroma. See, however, comments by Mr. David Green below.
Pollen	:	Lovell[10] states that the species “yields large quantities of pollen” under favorable weather conditions. Larsson and Shuel [9] also indicate that the species provides pollen. This providing of early pollen may be red maple’s most important function for the beekeeper, for it helps stimulate brood rearing and colony building for later honey flows.
Additional information	:	Red maple is a rapidly growing tree that can reach a height of 35 ft in 20 years. It has a relatively short life expectancy, normally in the 80 to 100 year range, but 200 year old trees are known to exist. The root system is shallow and spreading, the species is shade-tolerant and the wood is relatively weak, but apparently stronger than that of silver maple. Its adaptability to various types of sites has long made it popular for home landscapes. There are many cultivars of red maple commercially available. These have been selected for their showy red color, time of bloom, general tree shape and maleness (to provide seed-free plants). With the exception of some recent introductions, however, many of the most brilliant red forms are female. Where rapid growth is desired, stronger wood and better color generally makes red maple a better choice for home landscaping than silver maple. Red maple is susceptible to injury from mowing and even weed trimmers, and these injuries provide routes of entry for pathogens and insects. While the species is less susceptible to wind damage than silver maple, it is by no means immune. The pH range over which red maple responds well is 5.4 to 7.0 and it often grows poorly and becomes chlorotic when grown in more alkaline soils. This condition can be partly alleviated by spring fertilizer treatments. It is frequently considered too large to be a street tree, and does not respond well to prolonged droughts often encountered on these sites. Red maple can become a weed at times. The sap sometimes has been used for maple syrup production, but the sugar content of the sap is about half that of sugar maple and chemicals in the sap known as saponins cause excessive frothing during processing. The syrup is said to have a good flavor, however. The lumber from red maple, often sold as soft maple, is useful in manufacturing various wooden products.
Reference	:	1. Ayers, G. S. 2003. Understanding the Other Side of Beekeeping. Part 2--Completing the model. American bee Journal 143:886-890. 2. Barnes, B. V. and W. H. Wagner. 1981. Michigan Trees. A guide to the trees of Michigan and the Great Lakes Region. The University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, MI. 3. Billington, C. 1977. Shrubs of Michigan. Cranbrook Institute of Science. Bulletin 20 (Second Edition). Cranbrook Institute of Science. Bloomfield Hills, MI. 4. Crane, E. (Editor) 1975. Honey a Comprehensive Survey. Crane, Russak & Co. Inc. New York. 5. Crane, E., P Walker and R. Day. 1984. Directory of Important World Honey Sources. International Bee Research Association. London 6. Dirr, M. A. 1990 Manual of woody Landscape plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Use. Stipes Publishing Company. Champaign, IL. 7. Fernald, M. L.1950. Gray's Manual of Botany (8th Ed.). D. Van Nostrand Company. New York. 8. Howes, E. N. 1979. Plants and Beekeeping. Faber and Faber. London 9. Larsson, H. C.and R. Shuel (C. D. Scott-Dupree Ed.) 1990. Nectar Trees, Shrubs and Herbs of Ontario. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food Publication 82.Queens Printer for Ontario. 10. Lovell, J. H. 1926, Honey Plants of North America. A. I. Root Co. Medina, OH. 11. Morton Arboretum Staff, 1990. Woody Plants of The Morton Arboretum. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, IL. 12. Oertel, E. 1939. Honey and Pollen Plants of the United States. U.S.D.A. Circular 554. Government Printing Office, Washington D. C. 13. Pammel, L. H., and C. M. King. 1930. Honey Plants of Iowa. Iowa Geological Survey Nol 7. Iowa Geological Survey. 14. Pellett, F. C. 1976. American Honey Plants. Dadant and sons. Hamilton, IL. 15. "Rehder, A. 1990. Manual of Cultivated Trees and Shrubs Hardy in North America Exclusive of the Subtropical and Warmer Temperate Regions. Dioscorides Press. Portland, OR. " 16. USDA, NRCS. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.