Leaves - opposite, 3 to 5 palmate lobes with serrated margins; sinuses relatively shallow 2 to 4 inches long; light green above, whitened and sometimes glaucous or hairy beneath. 

Flowers - appear in May, usually before leaves; bright red, rarely yellow on branchlets of the previous year.

Fruit - Clusters of 2 cm (< 1 in) long fruit with slighly divergent wings appear June and July, on long slender stems. Often reddish. 

Habitat

Occurring in the southern areas of Northwestern Ontario, red maple can probably thrive on a wider range of soil types, textures, moisture, pH, and elevation than any other forest species in North America. The species does not show a strong affinity for either a north or a south aspect. Although it develops best on moderately well-drained, moist sites at low to intermediate elevations, it is common in mountainous country on the drier ridges and on south and west exposures of upper slopes.