Native Plants

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Tuesday - October 12, 2010

From: Georgetown, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Trees
Title: DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRANDYWINE MAPLE AND BIGTOOTH MAPLE - GEORGETOWN, TX
Answered by: Mike Tomme

QUESTION:

We live in the Georgetown area (north of Austin). We have a maple tree, that had a tag that read Brandywine. We wanted a bigtooth maple. What is the difference between what we have and what we wanted? Thanks.

ANSWER:

I'd ask for my money back. The tree you wanted is the better choice for your area.

Brandywine is a cultivar of Acer rubrum (Red maple). Acer grandidentatum (Big-toothed maple) (or bigtooth maple) is a different species. Both species are native to Texas, but their native ranges are very different. Here are a couple of links to USDA's website that show the distribution of each species:

Distribution of Acer rubrum

Distribution of Acer grandidentatum