Maple tree with 3 lobed leaves8/12/2023 ![]() ![]() The Red Maple ( Acer rubrum) has serrated leaf margins and the margins of the centre lobe are almost parallel to the midvein. Silver Maple ( Acer saccharinum) - Summer Colour (left photo) and Fall Colour (right photo) Red Maple The Silver Maple ( Acer saccharinum) has heavily indented leaf lobes with serrated margins. ![]() Sugar Maple ( Acer saccharum)- Summer Colour (left photo) and Fall Colour (right photo) Silver Maple The Sugar Maple ( Acer saccharum) has smooth leaf margins. Maple Trees Commonly Found in Ontario Sugar Maple Red Maple ( Acer rubrum) - serrated leaf margins, underside of the leaf is silver grey, keys are red. Red maple trees can grow up to 25 m high.įigure 1. However, it only grows to 3-5 m or as a shrub. In northern parts of Ontario, mountain maple with its small, heavily serrated 3- to 5-lobed palmate leaves could be confused with red maple. Silver maple is a soft maple with heavily indented lobes compared to red maple or sugar maple. Red maple can hybridize with silver maple, creating crosses of intermediate forms that should also be avoided near horse pastures. The underside of the red maple leaf is silver grey and the keys are red. Between the lobes, the leaf edge or leaf margin is serrated or jagged, while the leaf margin of sugar maple and Norway maple is smooth with no serrations. The two sides of the centre lobe are almost parallel to the midvein (5). The leaves of red maples are palmate (like the palm of your hand), 5-15 cm long and about as wide, with 3 to 5 lobes. All horses had both gross and microscopic evidence of hemoglobin in their urine (hemoglobinuria) (4). The clinical signs observed included: colic, fever, followed by laminitis and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Of 32 horses, 19 (59%) died after ingesting wilted red maple leaves. Death is due to a severe lack of oxygen delivery to vital cells from hemolysis of red blood cells, anemia and the oxidation of hemoglobin to methemoglobin, which is incapable of transporting oxygen. The normal PCV and Hb concentrations in horse blood are 28%-44% and 112-169 g/L respectively (3). The percentage of red blood cells circulating in the blood (packed cell volume (PCV)) can drop as low as 8%-10% and the hemoglobin (Hb) concentration can be as low as 50 g/L. They suffer intravascular and extravascular hemolysis (red blood cell breakdown). The mucous membranes are blue to brown from poor oxygenation. Horses that remain alive for 18-24 hr after ingestion of wilted leaves will be severely depressed and cyanotic and produce dark red or brown urine. Horses often die within 18-24 hr of ingestion of wilted leaves. The ingestion of 1.5-3 gm of leaves per kilogram of body weight (0.7-1.5 kg for the average 450-kg horse) will cause hemolytic disease. Ingestion of fresh leaves does not appear to cause disease. Wilted leaves remain toxic for a few weeks or more. This indicates that the amount of toxin increases in leaves during the summer. Older wilted leaves, e.g., those collected after September 15, cause faster poisoning than wilted leaves of early summer growth. The problem can occur from June to October. Ingestion of wilted or partially dried red maple leaves from fallen or pruned branches causes lysis of the red blood cells with the subsequent development of a hemolytic anemia, which can be deadly (2). Gallic acid causes methemoglobinemia and is plentiful in both water and methanol extracts of red maple, sugar maple and silver maple, and in the extract fractions from these species that oxidize blood cells (1). The toxic ingredient in red maple leaves is believed to be gallic acid (1). Red maple is a tree native to the eastern half of North America. ![]() The native red maple ( Acer rubrum), also called swamp or soft maple, is a potent killer of horses and ponies. ![]()
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