Red maples (Acer rubrum) are beloved by humans for their brilliant fall foliage and attractive, regular growth habit. But their blossoms provide an early spring treat for emerging pollinators. One of the most common and widespread deciduous trees in the eastern US, red maple is fast-growing, very adaptable, and is highly valued as an ornamental tree. Its flowers, petioles, twigs and leaves all appear in varying shades of red, but it’s the flowers that attract our notice at this time of year. Red maple trees are dioecious, meaning male or female flowers occur on separate trees (although they can occasionally appear on the same tree).
Male flowers appear to be a lighter, yellow-orange hue due to their long, protruding stamens, which are loaded with pollen. Female flowers are darker with sticky, fuzzy stigmas extending past the petals, the better to catch pollen floating by. While maple tree flowers are primarily wind-pollinated, pollinators such as newly-emerging queen bumble bees gladly take advantage of this nutritious resource.
