Southern Sugar Maple, also known as Florida Maple, is common in rich bottomland forests. It is similar to the northern Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), which occurs in the mountains, but the leaves of A. barbatum tend to be smaller, more compact, and are white-hairy beneath. The rare Chalk Maple (Acer leucoderme) is also similar, but is a smaller tree and with yellow-hairy leaf undersides.

The leaves are glaucous (whitish) and pubescent (fuzzy) beneath.

This species is also known as Acer floridanum or Acer saccharum ssp. floridanum. Whether Acer barbatum or Acer floridanum is the correct name is still up for debate.

The shallowly lobed leaves on this large tree are most unusual, looking a bit like Chalk Maple, but they are whitish beneath.

Yellowish-green flowers appear in early spring.

Chatham Co., NC 3/17/06.

Bark of a young tree. Like that of Chalk Maple, the bark is very pale, especially when covered by cerain species of lichen, but is often stained black by mold (see below).

Bark of an older tree.

Orange Co., NC 4/13/08.

Lower trunks are frequently stained black by mold growing on sap oozing out of sapsucker holes.

Durham Co., NC 3/1/08.