Leaves fan out to 15 inches wide. A large, fast-growing tree, bigleaf maple needs plenty of space to grow. It thrives in poor gravelly soils and makes a massive root system on slopes, which makes it excellent for erosion control. Bigleaf Maple Basics Broad-leaved deciduous tree. Can live over 200 years.
Leaves leak a milky, sticky juice when broken.
Graceful greenish-yellow flowers, April through May. Fall leaves turn golden yellow. The bigleaf maple often wears a shaggy green coat of moss, lichen, and ferns. Bigleaf maple make special roots which tap this soil for nutrients. The heavy weight of wet moss can also break branches.