Trident Maple

Trident Maple (Acer buergerianum)

Full to part sun, medium to moderately dry moisture, tolerates clay and compacted urban soils, pH 4.5–7.5.

20–35 feet tall by 15–25 feet wide; inconspicuous yellow-green flowers in spring; fruit is a paired samara with parallel or slightly converging wings, ripening in fall. Growth rate slow to medium. Bark on older specimens exfoliates to reveal orange-brown inner layers.

Native region: Not native to Tennessee; ornamental introduction from China, Korea, and Japan.

Trient Maple takes its common name from the three-lobed leaf shape — each lobe pointing forward like a trident. It is a smaller ornamental maple well suited to residential lots and street tree use throughout the I-65 corridor. In Middle Tennessee, Acer buergerianum tolerates the clay-heavy soils of Columbia and surrounding towns better than many maples, and its relatively compact canopy fits under utility lines where larger species cannot. Fall color is reliable orange to red. Verticillium wilt, common in Tennessee soils, can kill individual branches; infected wood shows characteristic olive-green vascular streaking and should be pruned out promptly. Scale insects occasionally colonize stressed specimens. Mulching the root zone retains soil moisture and reduces heat stress during Middle Tennessee's extended summer periods.