General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Tree
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Full Sun to Partial Shade
Partial or Dappled Shade
Partial Shade to Full Shade
Full Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Soil pH Preferences: Slightly acid (6.1 – 6.5)
Neutral (6.6 – 7.3)
Slightly alkaline (7.4 – 7.8)
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 5b -26.1 °C (-15 °F) to -23.3 °C (-10 °F)
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 10b
Plant Height: 25 to 30 feet
Plant Spread: 15 to 25 feet
Leaves: Good fall color
Deciduous
Other: Yellowish-green, undersides are pubescent
Fruit: Other: 1 to 3 inch paired brown samara
Fruiting Time: Fall
Flowers: Inconspicuous
Flower Color: Green
Other: Greenish-yellow
Flower Time: Spring
Underground structures: Taproot
Suitable Locations: Street Tree
Xeriscapic
Uses: Provides winter interest
Shade Tree
Resistances: Humidity tolerant
Drought tolerant
Propagation: Seeds: Stratify seeds: Stratify for 60-70 days in a moist medium, preferrably in potting soil or sand. A good tip to shorten the stratification period even more is to peel of the pericarp of the maple seed and expose the brown seed inside. this speeds up chilling,
Days to germinate: 1-2 weeks after exposed to warm soil temperature
Depth to plant seed: 1-2 inches
Suitable for wintersowing
Can handle transplanting
Will not come true from seed
Containers: Not suitable for containers
Miscellaneous: Tolerates poor soil
Dioecious
Goes Dormant

Image
Common names
  • Chalk Maple
  • Whitebark Maple
  • Maple
Botanical names
  • Accepted: Acer leucoderme
  • Synonym: Acer saccharum subsp. leucoderme

Photo Gallery

Date: c. 1901
illustration by Mrs Ellis Rowan from 'Southern Wild Flowers and T
Location: Irvine, California, USA
Date: May 6 2022
a young Chalk Maple growing in a pot in southern california
Location: Irvine, California, USA
Date: May 6 2022
a young Chalk Maple growing in southern california
Location: Irvine, California, USA
Date: May 6 2022
a young chalk maple, sourced from south carolina, growing in sout

Date: c. 1902
illustration by C. E. Faxon from Sargent's 'Silva of North Americ
Location: Cabarrus Co., NC
Date: 2020-04-08
photo by Hope Duckworth, courtesy of NC Cooperative Extension: ht
Location: National Botanical Garden (DC) | November 2022
Date: 2022-11-26
Location: National Botanical Garden (DC) | November 2022
Date: 2022-11-26
Location: Irvine, California, USA
Date: May 14 2022
Comments:
  • Posted by SoumilY on May 7, 2022 9:13 PM concerning plant:
    Chalk Maple (Acer leucoderme) or (Acer Saccharum subsp. leucoderme) is a close relative to the sugar maple, sometimes considered a subspecies. This maple is much shorter than the other maples in the sugar maple complex. its bark is a chalky white when mature. its leaves are intermediate between Acer Floridanum and Acer Nigrum. The tree is similar in form to Acer grandidentatum, albeit smaller. Its native to the southeastern united states, but has the potential to grow nearly anywhere in the US, like most maples. the growing zone range is (zone 5b-10b) on the West coast , and (zone 5b-9b) on the East coast. The tree performs well here in Southwestern California, due to the lack of any extreme temperatures. this tree grows well in Texas as long as it gets some shade. It can grow nearly anywhere on the east coast except Florida and New England.

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