54. Norway Maple

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Four Norway Maples by Kane Hall face Suzzallo Library. Few species are more widely planted as troublefree, urban street-trees; every major temperate city where the climate allows, has Norway maples in its downtown core. Norway maple combines the requisite size, strength, thriftiness and ease of propagation to an admirable degree. It also varies usefully, so we have mushroom-shaped dwarfs, columnar sentries, ovals, purpleleaved freaks, and even cutleaved varieties. No, it isn't as stirring in silhouetted beauty or as enchanting in fall color as sugar maple, but it is a better choice for difficult sites. The trunk is quite similar to that of Seattle's native bigleaf maple, but the leaf is not as large or deeply cut, and the seeds spread their wings wider and have no bristly hairs.

Pictured below: Map of geographical range of Norway Maple.

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