Focus on a Native

Bigtooth Maple

by CMG Betty J

Bigtooth Maple, Acer grandidentatum, is a medium-sized, deciduous tree with a rounded crown that grows in protected canyons and along creek beds. It is slow-growing and can take many years to reach its full height of 40-50 feet tall. The trunk of a mature tree is about 12 inches in diameter with thin, dark brown to gray bark. The three-lobed leaves are opposite, simple, and about 3 inches long and wide. The leaves turn golden yellow to red in the autumn if the weather has been cool. The flowers appear at the same time as the leaves in the spring. The fruit is paired samara (two-winged seeds joined at the base). As the seeds mature, they turn to brown. The wings separate and fall to the ground in a helicopter-like motion.

The Bigtooth Maple’s native range stretches from the Rocky Mountains to Idaho, Utah, and further south to Oklahoma. Locally, it grows in some of the deeper canyons of Kendall County and west to Real County, in the dry canyons of the Lampasas Cut Plains, and in the mountains of the Trans Pecos. This species was once more abundant in Central Texas when the climate was cooler and wetter but is now restricted to isolated locations. Lost Maples State Park near Leakey was named for this tree. Each fall many Texans travel to the park to view the dramatic fall colors. 

Available commercially at nurseries in its growing region, the Bigtooth Maple, (also known as Uvalde Bigtooth Maple, Canyon Maple, Sabinal Maple, or Western Sugar Maple), is occasionally planted as an ornamental tree. It grows well in rocky limestone soils and is relatively drought tolerant. Where the species is abundant, this close relative of the sugar maple, Acer saccharum, is tapped to make maple syrup.                                                                                                               

Seeds

Fall Colors

Bigtooth Maple Leaves