Dwarf Maple Tree
The Dwarf Maple (Acer glabrum, Torr.) is a shrub or low tree of bushy habit which grows on the western mountains from Canada to Arizona and New Mexico. The leaves are variable, one type being a three-lobed, cut-toothed form not unlike the red maple leaf; the other extreme is a compound leaf made of three oval, coarsely toothed leaflets. They vary in diameter from one to five inches.
The flowers are usually on separate trees as in the box elder. The fruits as well as the leaves are smooth and small, with wings that spread but little. They are often ruddy during the summer.