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Native Plant Society of Texas

Bigtooth Maple

Acer grandidentatum

Other common name(s):

Big-toothed Maple, Uvalde Bigtooth Maple, Southwestern Bigtooth Maple, Canyon Maple, Sabinal Maple, Western Sugar Maple

Family:

Sapindaceae (Soapberry Family)

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

Leaflet Tiles © Esri — Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, TomTom, Intermap, iPC, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, Kadaster NL, Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), and the GIS User Community
Chihuahuan Deserts, Cross Timbers, Edwards Plateau
Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands, Chihuahuan Montane Woodlands, Low Mountains and Bajadas
Limestone Cut Plain
Balcones Canyonlands

Plant Characteristics

Growth Form

Tree

Height

15
to
40
ft.

Spread

10
to
15
ft.

Leaf Retention

Deciduous

Lifespan

Perennial

Habitat and Care Requirements

Soil Type(s)

Loam, Clay, Calcareous, Moist

Light Requirement

Sun

Water Requirement

Medium

Native Habitat

Woodland, Wetland or Riparian

Bloom and Attraction

Bloom Color

Yellow, Green

Bloom Season

Spring

Seasonal Interest

Fall Color, Seeds, Forage, Nectar, Pollen, Flowers

Wildlife Benefit

Browsers, Butterflies, Birds, Small Mammals

Maintenance

Slow growth rate, especially in the first few seasons. Needs well drained soil. Slightly more drought tolerant than eastern maples. A good small landscape tree. Brilliant yellow to red fall color. Benefits from 2″–4″ of mulch over and beyond the root zone. Do not allow mulch to contact tree trunk. Foliage tips may burn in hot summers. Prune only if necessary. Native habitat: moist soils of canyons in mountains and plateaus, in woodlands and riparian zones. Found mostly in the Edwards Plateau and Guadalupe Mountains but available in nurseries in other parts of Texas. May require supplemental watering outside of its native range, but do not overwater. Propagation: seed.

Comments

Blooms March-April. The western relative of Sugar Maple. Grows as a large shrub to small tree depending on conditions. Its bark is dark brown and scaly. The three to five lobed leaves are dark green above, with pale fuzz underneath. The scientific name refers to the large toothed leaf. Flowers are small, in hanging clusters, appearing before the leaves. The flowers are wind-pollinated, with variability in sex expression, as each plant may produce both male and female flowers in a single inflorescence or only one of the sexes, depending on environmental factors such as temperature and moisture. The fruit is a winged samara with two large fruits fused in the middle. Although still listed by some in the Aceraceae Family, the majority of botanical organizations now list it in the Sapindaceae Family.

References

1) Griffith, Bryce, Omernick & Rodgers (2007). Ecoregions of Texas. 2) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ACGR3. 3) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Acer+grandidentatum&formsubmit=Search+Terms. 4) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=22739&locationType=County&mapType=Normal. 5) Wasowski and Wasowski, Native Texas Plants Landscaping Region by Region, 1991, pg. 331. 6) Miller, George O., Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas 2nd Ed., 2013, pg 48., 7) Native and Adapted Landscape Plants, City of Austin and Texas A&M, 2014, 8) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=28760#null, 9) https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=241814, 10) https://extension.usu.edu/rangeplants/shrubs-and-trees/bigtooth-maple#:~:text=Uses%20and%20Management:,source%20of%20sugar%20and%20syrup., 11) https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/acegra/all.html, 12) https://arboretum.arizona.edu/faul-preserve-acer-grandidentatum-bigtooth-maple#:~:text=The%20flowers%20are%20wind%2Dpollinated,characteristic%20of%20maples%20(2).
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