Is this a silver maple?

CaliforniaMelanie

Hi, all. I'm new here. I'm a tree hugging freak originally from the northeastern U.S. My family relocated to Southern California three years ago.

I have two trees in my yard that are puzzling me. They look like silver maples, but those aren't supposed to grow in the southwest. They are doing very well (and I absolutely love them). I took a few pics and here they are:


(These had already fallen off--I didn't pull them off the tree.)


Isn't this one beautiful? The one behind it is just as beautiful. Here are the trunks on each:




Aren't they wonderful? Here are some roots:



And some "babies":



What's puzzling me about these trees is that they don't turn red in fall; they turn yellowish-brown. However, very few trees here in the southwest (at least at ground/sea level) turn brilliantly red or yellow (just a select species or two).

Thanks for any help!

fosheezy

hahaha awesome, i love your enthusiasm for trees! looks like silver maple to me (Acer saccharinum) but to be sure have a look under the mature leaves - they should have a silvery/white underside. Also as far as i know they do only go yellow in autumn, they might go orangy or a little red if you get really cold and sunny autumns but probably not reliably.

peace out.

CaliforniaMelanie

Thanks a bunch, fosheezy! I'll look under the leaves when I go outside this morning. Much appreciated!

TrueBlacktopp

it definitely looks like a silver maple, but the only thing is that silver maples normally have 5 lobes in the leaf, not 3 like this one.