The pictures below are of one particular individual, a little over 20 years old. It's the product of a very successful germination project. In 1995, Ed Leuck collected seeds from a tree growing on Albany Avenue, here in Shreveport. Seventeen different plantings resulted from the germination of those seeds, of which six survive today (the others were lost to vandalism or drought). The tree pictured below is one of the survivors, growing nicely under a very large white oak (Quercus alba).
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| This chalk maple (Acer leucoderme) is growing fairly erect, despite the old white oak looming over it. The variegated leaf litter is a mix of maple and oak leaves. |
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| The red-orange leaves are pleasing. |
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| Zooming in, we see that the chalk maple has a characteristic 'maple leaf' shape, very similar to the southern sugar maple leaf. |
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| Chalk maple leaves are simple and lobed with palmate venation. |
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| Flipping the chalk maple leaf over, we see a white underside. This is similar to the red maple leaf. But there's a difference that isn't caught by the camera: chalk maple leaves have a velvety ('fuzzy') underside, while red maple leaves feel papery. |
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| The large, old on-site-native white oak is turning a shade of red, too. |
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| The species name 'leucoderme' refers to the bark or "skin" (-derme), which varies from gray to white (leuco-). |
Consult the following links for more information about this species:
United States Department of Agriculture (map only, zoom in!)
Stephen F. Austin State University - "It's one of my favorite trees on the planet!"
Texas A&M University "This is the loveliest as well as the rarest of Texas's maples."
University of Florida (IFAS Extension)
