Maple with compound leaves. Seedlings are often mistaken for poison ivy.

A fast, brittle maple of creek bottoms. Leaves have 3–5 leaflets. Opposite branching. Paired winged seeds (samaras). Seedlings with three leaflets fool people every spring.

Habitat

Laughery Creek floodplain, ditch lines, wet woods.

Season

Year-round; seeds late summer.

Size

30–60 ft

Field marks

Opposite buds; compound maple leaves; paired helicopter seeds