Editing Acer macrophyllum (section)

==Description==
Bigleaf maple can grow up to {{convert|158|ft|m|abbr=off|order=flip}} tall,<ref name="mdv">{{cite web |last=Vaden |first=M. D. |title=World's Tallest Maple Discovery of 2012 |url=http://www.mdvaden.com/maple_tallest.shtml}}</ref><ref name="hh">{{cite news |last=Poor |first=Kasi |date=2012-11-06 |title=The tall tale of 'Humboldt Honey' -- tree hunter says world's tallest maple is in Humboldt Redwoods State Park |journal=[[Times-Standard]] |url=http://www.times-standard.com/ci_21937905/tall-tale-humboldt-honey-tree-hunter-says-worlds |url-status=dead |access-date=2012-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203183429/http://www.times-standard.com/ci_21937905/tall-tale-humboldt-honey-tree-hunter-says-worlds |archive-date=2013-12-03}}</ref> but more commonly reaches {{convert|15|-|20|m|ft|round=5|abbr=on}} tall and {{Convert|90-120|cm|abbr=off}}.<ref name=":arno">{{Cite book |last1=Arno |first1=Stephen F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDD4DwAAQBAJ |title=Northwest Trees: Identifying & Understanding the Region's Native Trees |last2=Hammerly |first2=Ramona P. |publisher=[[Mountaineers Books]] |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-68051-329-5 |edition=field guide |location=Seattle |pages=251–256 |language=en |oclc=1141235469 |orig-date=1977}}</ref> The species' current [[National Register of Champion Trees|national champion for size]] is located in [[Lane County, Oregon]]. It is {{convert|119|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}} tall with a crown spread of {{convert|91|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}}, with an average [[diameter at breast height]] (dbh) of about {{convert|3.7|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |date=15 September 2016 |title=Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) |url=http://www.americanforests.org/big-trees/bigleaf-maple-acer-macrophyllum-2/ |website=National Register of Big Trees |publisher=American Forests}}</ref> The previous national champion is located in [[Marion, Oregon]], and is {{convert|88|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}} tall with a crown spread of {{convert|104|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}}, with an average dbh of about {{convert|2.5|m|ft|frac=2|abbr=on}}. The [[Bark (botany)|bark]] is gray brown, darkening and developing ridges with age.<ref name=":arno" />

The bigleaf maple has the largest [[leaves]] of any maple, typically {{convert|15|-|30|cm|abbr=on|frac=2}} across with five deeply incised palmate lobes, with the largest running to {{convert|61|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name="WTU Herbarium2015">{{cite web | url= http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?Genus=Acer&Species=macrophyllum | editor-last= Giblin | editor-first= David  | date= 2015 | title= ''Acer macrophyllum'' | website= WTU Herbarium Image Collection | publisher= Burke Museum, University of Washington | access-date= 2015-02-07}}</ref><ref name="Jepson">{{Jepson eFlora|11746|Acer macrophyllum |first=Alan T. |last=Whittemore |date=2012 |access-date=2015-02-07}}</ref> The stems are {{Convert|15-30|cm|abbr=on|frac=2}} long and contain milky sap.<ref name=":arno" /> In autumn, the leaves turn gold and yellow, contrasting against backdrops of [[evergreen]] [[conifer]]s.
In spring, the tree produces [[flower]]s in pendulous [[raceme]]s {{convert|10|-|15|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} long, greenish-yellow with inconspicuous petals. It is [[Hermaphroditic (botany)|hermaphroditic]], bearing both male and female flowers in each raceme. The flowers appear in early spring, before the leaves.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) {{!}} Oregon Wood Innovation Center|url=http://owic.oregonstate.edu/bigleaf-maple-acer-macrophyllum|access-date=2021-05-11|website=owic.oregonstate.edu}}</ref>
The [[fruit]] is a paired winged [[Samara (fruit)|samara]], each [[seed]] {{convert|1|-|1.5|cm|abbr=on|frac=8}} in diameter with a {{convert|4|-|5|cm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} wing.<ref name="Klinkenberg2014">{{cite web |date=2014 |editor-last=Klinkenberg |editor-first=Brian |title=''Acer macrophyllum'' |url=http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Acer%20macrophyllum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208003830/http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Acer%20macrophyllum |archive-date=2015-02-08 |access-date=2015-02-07 |website=E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. |publisher=Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver}}</ref><ref name="Jepson" /><ref name="WTU Herbarium2015" /> Bigleaf maple begins bearing seed at about ten years of age.<ref name=":1" />

Unofficial world's largest maple leaf found Circa 1990 at Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada - measuring 63.4&nbsp;cm W by 52.3&nbsp;cm H (without stem).

In May 2018 the oldest two Oregon maples in Europe, 175 years old, were removed from [[Trinity College Dublin]] (TCD), Ireland. The first had an interior which was beginning to rot, and it fell after inclement windy weather. The second, also infected, was cut down as the same fate was expected. Both were in the adjoining grassy area which was originally the cemetery of All Hallows and is now the Front Square of TCD.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Stress the likely cause of tree death in Trinity College, says expert |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/stress-the-likely-cause-of-tree-death-in-trinity-college-says-expert-1.3524283}}</ref>

=== Chemistry ===
The fallen leaves, blossoms, and seeds are concentrated with [[potassium]], [[calcium]], and other nutrients.<ref name=":arno" />