PNW Native
Ranges from SW British Columbia to Northern California. (3)
Vine maple ranges from a tall shrub to a small tree growing up to 20 ft / 7 m tall. Branches often root and create new plants that are clones of the original. Stems originally are light green but weather brown with age. Maple leaves have 7-9 round and pointed lobes and are 5-12 cm wide. Leaves are deciduous, turning gold-bright red in the fall, and opposite. Flowers are small, under 1cm, white, and in clusters at shoot ends. Fruits are winged achenes that look like helicopters flying through the sky when they drop. (1)
The abundant soft foliage of vine maple present in summer makes it a preferred food of black-tailed deer and elk. Elk winter ranges are in the low-elevation ecosystems vine maple prefers, causing it to be a heavily-used winter browse. Vine maple/ western sword fern communities that develop after wildfires in western Oregon provide black-tailed deer with an abundance of forage that they seem to prefer over other communities with vine maple. Large populations of mountain beavers are found in seral brush plant communities with a high abundance of vine maple. A large number of bird species use leaves and seed stalks in their nest building. Seeds, buds, and flowers, are widely eaten by birds and small mammals including squirrels and chipmunks, who store the seeds in caches. (3)
Vine maple prefers wet and moist forests, understorey canopy openings, forest margins, riparian areas, (2) but will generally flourish in all forest types in the region except dry sites with good drainage. (1)
Vine maple was called “basket tree” by many Native tribes including the Quinault because they weaved intricate baskets with the long, straight stems of the maple. The Quinault used these large and heavy baskets for firewood and shellfish, and they would use the bendy saplings as baby swings. (2) The relatively hard wood was also carved into various implements used in daily life including platters, bowls, spoons, drum hoops, snowshoe frames, and curved branches were used in salmon weir construction. (1)
Livestock, including domestic sheep and cattle, graze on vine maple in second-growth Douglas-fir forests in Washington and Oregon. Locally, vine maple is used for firewood and tool handles. (3) Loggers resent vine maple due to its propensity to easily trip those walking in the woods. (2)
