Big Leaf Maple
Acer macrphyllum
Learn more about the Big Leaf Maple including when and why it was planted, how to identify it, and where to find it on campus.
Tree Facts
Family: Aceraceae
Type
Deciduous
WA native tree
Size
Large (greater than 50 feet)
Traits
- Large leaves with five lobes that measure over 12 inches across
- Hanging clusters of small yellow flowers in the spring before leaves emerge
- Paired helicopter seeds (winged samara fruit)
- Deeply ridged and furrowed bark
Native Range
- Coastal western North America
Story of the Tree
Near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and eastward on the spacious acres of lawn, are five huge bigleaf maples. These trees are native at the Capitol, dating back to before the 20th century.
Some of their mossy trunks support licorice fern. Producing leaves larger than any other maple, frequently the size of a dinner plate, and sometimes measuring nearly two feet, this tree certainly earns its name!
In October the leaves turn golden and drop, revealing brown winged seeds covered with tiny bristles.
Washington’s tallest bigleaf maple, an eye-straining 158 feet, grows in Mt. Baker National Forest.
