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Amur maple

Quick facts

Amur maple is a MDA Specially Regulated Plant in Minnesota.

  • Sellers must affix a label that advises buyers to only plant Amur maple and its cultivars in landscapes where the seedlings will be controlled by mowing and other means.
  • Amur maple should be planted at least 100 yards from natural areas.
  • Amur maple displaces native shrubs and understory trees in open woods; shades out native grasses and herbaceous plants in savanna habitat.

Amur maple should be reported when found in wild areas. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources provides detailed recommendations for reporting invasive species.

close up of amur maple leaves

How to identify amur maple

  • Amur maple is a small tree up to 20 feet high with a broad crown, but is sometimes pruned as a hedge.
  • Twigs are smooth and light colored.
red stems of amur maple leaves
Amur maple twigs

Stem

  • Mature bark is faint gray developing thin vertical stripes.
  • It resprouts easily from the cut stump.

Branches

  • Opposite leaves.
  • Longer than wide, with three shallow lobes and double-toothed edges.
  • Turns a brilliant red in fall.
Amur maple red and green winged seeds
Amur maple seeds

Flowers

  • Fragrant flowers appear in loose clusters with young leaves in May and June.

Fruit and seeds

  • Numerous reddish, two-winged, 1-inch-long fruit mature in late summer.
  • These “helicopter seeds” disperse easily in the wind.

 

Authors: Angela Gupta, Amy Rager,Megan M. Weber, Extension educators

Reviewed in 2019

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