| Acer glabrum | |
|---|---|
| A. glabrum subsp. douglasii, Olympic National Forest | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Sapindaceae |
| Genus: | Acer |
| Species: | A. glabrum |
| Binomial name | |
| Acer glabrum Torr. |
|
Acer glabrum is a species of maple native to western North America, from southeastern Alaska, British Columbia and western Alberta, east to western Nebraska, and south through Washington, Montana and Colorado to California, Arizona and New Mexico.[1]
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Acer glabrum is a small tree growing to 10 m tall, with a trunk up to 20–30 cm diameter. The leaves are 2–10 cm broad, three-lobed (rarely five-lobed), variable in the depth of lobing, occasionally so deeply lobed as to be divided into three leaflets; the lobes have an acute apex and a coarsely serrated margin. The flowers are produced in corymbs of five to ten, yellowish-green, at the same time as the new leaves in spring. The fruit is a samara or winged seed. These develop in pairs at an angle of less than 45° when mature.[2][3]
There are four to six varieties, some of them treated by some authors at the higher rank of subspecies:[1][3][4]
It is sometimes referred to as "rock maple", due to the extreme hardness of the wood, which often requires special cutting tools. Not to be confused with Acer saccharum, the Sugar Maple, which is also referred to as "Hard Maple" or "Rock Maple" or "Hard Rock Maple".
Acer glabrum is plentiful in many parts of the Rocky Mountains, often growing with Ponderosa Pine, Douglas-fir, and Quaking Aspen.[5]
Some Plateau Indian tribes drank an infusion of Douglas maple as a treatment for diarrhea.[6] Cut into veneers, layers of rock maple laminate are frequently used in the manufacture of skateboards and the cases of some grand piano brands (most notably instruments produced by Steinway and Sons.