Tree of the Week: Chalk Maple (Acer leucoderme)

This week we are taking a look at the leaves and fruits of a chalk maple (Acer leucoderme). Our tree of the week is pictured center, next to the gravel path. It's growing in a shady spot, on a gradual slope along with four other native maples.

This chalk maple is 23 years old. In 1995, Professor Ed Leuck collected seeds from its parent, a chalk maple growing in Shreveport, located on Albany Avenue. The seeds successfully germinated, resulting in 17 plantings in the arboretum. Six trees remain after the workings of vandalism, competition and drought. This particular specimen was planted for Earth Day 2000.

Chalk maples, like our other native maples, are marvelous shade trees.

The trunk is still quite small after 23 years of growth. The bark is light gray and smooth.

Chalk maple twig with leaves and fruit

Chalk maple leaves are simple, palmately lobed, and dark-green above. Underneath, leaves are light-green and a little fuzzy to the touch. These two leaves measure 2¼ inches wide.

This leaf is a little larger, measuring 2¾ inches wide.

It's more than 2½ inches long. Also, note the long petiole.

Chalk maples have winged fruits. Each seed has a wing, and two seeds are fused together, forming a pair.

The samara pair measures 1¼ inches wide. These fruits resemble those of the southern sugar maple, but the chalk maple samaras are smaller.

You can find more images of the arboretum's chalk maples here and here.

Compare this species with our southern sugar maple (Acer barbatum). You can find comparable photos here.

Tree of the Week: Chalk Maple (Acer leucoderme)

The red-orange leaves of the chalk maples (Acer leucoderme) are delightful this week. There are eight individuals in the arboretum, and as of today, most still have their leaves. By tomorrow, who knows?

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).

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.

The red-orange leaves are pleasing.

Zooming in, we see that the chalk maple has a characteristic 'maple leaf' shape, very similar to the southern sugar maple leaf.

Chalk maple leaves are simple and lobed with palmate venation.

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.

The large, old on-site-native white oak is turning a shade of red, too.

The species name 'leucoderme' refers to the bark or "skin" (-derme), which varies from gray to white (leuco-).

For spring time photos of the arboretum's chalk maples, click here.

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)

Acer leucoderme