| British Columbia Outdoor Wilderness Guide |
DOUGLAS MAPLE
acer glabrum
- The
Douglas Maple is also known as Rocky Mountain
Maple, Dwarf Maple
- 'Acer'
is the Latin word for a maple tree
- The
leaves and fruit of the Douglas Maple are hairless,
perhaps leading to the word 'glabrum' which means
"smooth"
- The
old Welsh word 'mapwl' meaning a knob in the middle
of anything, perhaps has led to the word 'maple'
UNIQUE
FEATURES:
- The
trunk of the Douglas Maple is often separated
into a number of small branches
LOCATION:
- The
Douglas Maple grows everywhere in BC but the northern
part and the Queen Charlotte Islands
- The
Douglas Maple prefers low to mid elevations
- Well
drained wet sites or dry ridges
- Avalanche
sites, south facing slopes, clearings and open
forests
SIZE:
- The
Douglas Maple occurs from a shrub to small tree
- 1
to 7 metres in height
FRUIT:
- pair
of winged seeds joined together in a 'V' shape
- tan,
dry wings about 2.5 cm
- seeds
are wrinkled and indented
- have
winged seeds
- seeds
are eaten by birds and small animals
LEAVES:
- 3
to 5 lobes, 7 to 10 cm wide
- maple-leaf
shape, coursely toothed
- dark
green on top, greyish-green underneath
- turns
bright red-orange in fall
- smaller
and more wrinkled than Bigleaf maple
BARK:
- thin,
smooth, roughened on older trees
- dark,
reddish on younger twigs becoming greyish with
age
WOOD
CHARACTERISTICS:
- the
wood of the Douglas Maple is tough, pliable
USES:
- modern
- ornamental tree
- traditional
- snowshoe frames, saddle frames, spoons, dipnet
or fishing hoops, bows, rattles, masks, headdresses;
inner bark: twine, rope, mats
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Alan
Forseth
alan@ibcnetwork.com
Phone
(250) 377-4144 or Toll Free: 1-877-325-7770
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