Allergy Season in March? Could it be that Silver Maple Tree in my yard?

 Acer saccharinum

One of the most common trees you may encounter near water is known as Silver Maple. Readily identifiable in Summer by it’s leaf color in which the upper side is green while the underside is a ‘sliver’ or gray color. This feature makes for a beautiful site on a breezy summer day.

Clusters of small flowers will form in early Spring, February to May depending on location, and are roughly 1/8”-1/4” diameter.  Flowers are green/yellow in color.  Trees can be either gender, or have both (dioecious) and even change it’s gender over time.

Flowers are primarily wind pollinated, although some bees do visit.  But not long after pollination of female flowers seeds will begin to form.  Seeds are encapsulated within a ‘wing’ that spins as it falls to the ground.  Two wings are attached together to form a pair.

Self-seeding

Mature Silver Maples will drop thousands of seeds each Spring.  These will readily germinate if they are kept moist.  So, any flower bed with moist soil will likely have new trees each Summer.  They are easy to deal with in that they are not deeply rooted, but there could be many of them depending on conditions.  

The purpose of samara fruits, as with all fruits, is to disperse seeds. The plant reproduces by making seeds, but those seeds need to find their way into the ground so they can grow. Seed dispersal is a big part of flowering plant reproduction. Samaras do this by spinning to the ground, sometimes catching the wind and traveling farther. This is ideal for the plant because it helps it spread and cover more territory with new plants.

Silver Maple leaves are opposite (paired) along branches.  Leaves are up to 6” long by 4” wide, with deeply divided lobes with serrated margins.  Often there are secondary lobes contained within the primary.  Leaves have fairly long stems (petioles) that are 3-5” long.  In Autumn the leaves will turn a yellow color.