Duration: Perennial

Leaves: 2"–5" long and wide, 3–5 rounded lobes, medium to coarse texture, dark green turning to red, yellow, and orange in fall.

Native: Canyons to open slopes in the north; ID to WY, south to NM.

Bigtooth maple is one of the most desirable native trees for the landscape. It tolerates high soil pH better than other maples, needs very little water once established, and its fall color is the best-kept secret in the Intermountain West. It can be trained as a large shrub (multiple trunks) or as a small tree (single trunk). One cultivar, ‘Autumn Glow,’ is available but has poor branching, dim fall color, and is on sugar maple rootstock and hence prone to iron deficiency. It should be avoided for these reasons. A related species found in protected sites along streams is Rocky Mountain maple (A. glabrum), a small, multistemmed native tree with delightful red stems, deep green leaves and yellow fall color.