Britt Slattery, USFWS
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Norway Maple
Acer platanoides
Origin: Europe and Western Asia
Background
Introduced for use as an ornamental landscape plant.
Distribution and Ecological Threat
Norway maple is found in 13 states in the eastern
United States, from Maine to Virginia and west to
Wisconsin. It is recognized as an invasive plant in
many of these states. Norway maple has escaped
cultivation and invades forests, fields, and other
natural habitats. It forms monotypic stands that create
dense shade and it displaces native trees, shrubs and
herbs.
John M. Randall, TNC
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Description and Biology
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Plant: grows up to 90 feet in height, has a
broadly-rounded crown and bark that is smooth at
first but becomes black, ridged and furrowed with
age.
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Leaves: deciduous, dark green, palmate or
hand-shaped, generally broader than long, opposite
(in pairs) along stem, milky sap in veins.
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Flowers, fruits and seeds: flowers are bright
yellow-green and appear in spring; fruits mature
during the summer into typical winged
"samaras" that look like helicopter blades
with a seed in the center.
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Spreads: expands locally by vegetative reproduction
and to new areas by seed.
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Look-alikes: Norway maple can be confused with many
maples species, especially sugar maple (Acer
saccharum), because of similar looking leaves.
It can be distinguished from native maples by the
presence of a milky white sap that oozes out of leaf
veins and stalks when broken. Norway maple is easily
spotted in the autumn when its leaves turn yellow
late in the season.
Prevention and Control
Don't plant Norway maple. To control existing
stands, manual, mechanical and chemical means are
available. Seedlings can be pulled by hand and small to
large trees can be cut to the ground, repeating as
necessary to control any re-growth from sprouts.
Glyphosate and triclopyr herbicides have been
successfully used to control Norway maple.
Native Alternatives
American beech (Fagus
grandifolia)
Chris Miller, NRCS
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red maple (Acer rubrum)
Britt Slattery, USFWS
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sourwood (Oxydendrum
arboreum)
USDA, NRCS
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sweet gum (Liquidambar
styraciflua)
Chris Miller, NRCS
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willow oak (Quercus
phellos)
Chris Miller, NRCS
|
black gum (Nyssa
sylvatica)
Chris Miller, NRCS
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