Central-East N. America
"Red maple is browsed by some wildlife species, including white-tailed deer, moose, elk, and snowshoe hare. It is a particularly valuable white-tailed deer browse during the late fall and winter, and is considered an important deer food in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Maine, and Minnesota. Although red maple is browsed by moose, it is often only lightly used. Irwin, however, reported that red maple is an important fall and winter moose browse in parts of northeastern Minnesota.
Maples provide cover for many species of wildlife. The screech owl, pileated woodpecker, and common flicker nest in cavities in many species of maple. Cavities in red maples in river floodplain communities are often well suited for cavity nesters such as the wood duck. Riparian red maple communities provide autumn roosts for blackbirds in central Ohio." [1]
"Red maple is characterized by showy fruits and flowers and colorful fall foliage. Red maple was first cultivated in 1656, and many cultivars are available. Red maple can be used to make maple syrup, although sugar maple is much more commonly used." [1]
"Red maple is an important source of sawtimber and pulpwood but is often overlooked as a wood resource. The wood is used for furniture, veneer, pallets, cabinetry, plywood, barrels, crates, flooring, and railroad ties." [1]
[1] Tirmenstein, D. A. 1991. Acer rubrum. In: Fire Effects Information System,. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/acerub/all.html.
