Maple, Caddo

Acer saccharum var. Caddo, or Caddo maple typically reaches a mature height of 30 feet and spread of 25 feet, but may be taller. Its star-shaped leaves turn under slightly at the edges, and turn muted yellow to orange in the fall that can be spectacular. Its crown is oval-shaped, with an upright/erect growth habit. This moderately drought-tolerant maple is a great street or shade tree.

Caddo maples, native to southwestern Oklahoma, are well-adapted to heat and drought, and resistant to leaf tatter and scorch common among many maples. This is a Southern (and western) Ecotype of Acer saccharum.

The LEAVES are dark green, leathery, and deeply lobed. The leaves have three useful diagnostic features to distinguish them from other sugar maples: they are pubescent, have erect hairs on the undersides, and also stipules. They have a tendency to droop at the edges. Instead of being broad and flat as other sugar maples the Caddo leaves may be rippled. These morphological and physiological adaptations allow the tree to tolerate drought and heat conditions more readily than northern and eastern subspecies of Acer saccharum.

The lenticels on the TWIGS are more conspicuous than those of common sugar maple.

Neither the FLOWERS a small inconspicuous bloom, nor the FRUIT, a single-winged samara in the fall, are ornamentally significant.

The BARK is smooth when the tree is young but turns gray and furrowed as the tree ages.

This tree is attractive to bees, butterflies and birds. Throughout the growing season into the fall, the tree can leak sap from superficial wounds, structural damage or insect/animal borings. This is a source of water and food for WILDLIFE.