Acer rubrum is one of the most abundant and widespread trees in eastern North America. It can be found from the south of Newfoundland, through Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and southern Quebec to the southwest west of Ontario, extreme southeastern Manitoba and northern Minnesota; southward through Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, eastern Oklahoma, and eastern Texas in its western range; and east to Florida. It has the largest continuous range along the North American Atlantic Coast of any tree that occurs in Florida. In total it ranges 2,600 km (1,600 mi) from north to south. The species is native to all regions of the United States east of the 95th meridian. The tree's range ends where the −40 °C (−40 °F) mean minimum isotherm begins, namely in southeastern Canada. A. rubrum is not present in most of the Prairie Peninsula of the northern Midwest (although it is found in Ohio), the coastal prairie in southern Louisiana and southeastern Texas and the swamp prairie of the Florida Everglades. Red maple's western range stops with the Great Plains where conditions become too dry for it. The absence of red maple from the Prairie Peninsula is most likely due to the tree's poor tolerance of wildfires. Red maple is most abundant in the Northeastern US, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and northeastern Wisconsin and is rare in the extreme west of its range and in the Southeastern US.
In several other locations, the tree is absent from large areas but still present in a few specific habitats. An example is the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, where red maple is not found in the dominant open plains, but is present along streams. Here the red maple is not present in the bottom land forests of the Grain Belt, despite the fact it is common in similar habitats and species associations both to the north and south of this area. In the Northeastern US, red maple can be a climax forest species in certain locations, but will eventually give way to sugar maple.
Acer rubrum does very well in a wide range of soil types, with varying textures, moisture, pH, and elevation, probably more so than any other forest tree in North America. A. rubrum's high pH tolerance means that it can grow in a variety of places, and it is widespread along the eastern United States. It grows on glaciated as well as unglaciated soils derived from the following rocks: granite, gneiss, schist, sandstone, shale, slate, conglomerate, quartzite, and limestone. Chlorosis can occur on very alkaline soils, though otherwise its pH tolerance is quite high. Moist mineral soil is best for germination of seeds.
Red maple can grow in a variety of moist and dry biomes, from dry ridges and sunny, southwest-facing slopes to peat bogs and swamps. While many types of tree prefer a south- or north-facing aspect, the red maple does not appear to have a preference. Its ideal conditions are in moderately well-drained, moist sites at low or intermediate elevations. However, it is nonetheless common in mountainous areas on relatively dry ridges, as well as on both the south and west sides of upper slopes. Furthermore, it is common in swampy areas, along the banks of slow moving streams, as well as on poorly drained flats and depressions. In northern Michigan and New England, the tree is found on the tops of ridges, sandy or rocky upland and otherwise dry soils, as well as in nearly pure stands on moist soils and the edges of swamps. In the far south of its range, it is almost exclusively associated with swamps. Additionally, red maple is one of the most drought-tolerant species of maple in the Carolinas.
Red maple is far more abundant today than when Europeans first arrived in North America. It only contributed minimally to old growth upland forests, and would only form same-species stands in riparian zones. The density of the tree in many of these areas has increased 6- to 7-fold, and this trend seems to be continuing, all of which is due to human factors, mainly loss of forest management by first nations who managed the forests to enhance acorn production and oak tree growth. This loss of management has been further enhanced by continued heavy logging and a recent trend of young, shrubby forests recovering from past human disturbances. Also, the decline of American elm and American chestnut due to introduced diseases has contributed to its spread. Red maple dominates such sites, but largely disappears until it only has a sparse presence by the time a forest is mature. This species is in fact a vital part of forest regeneration in the same way that paper birch is.
Because it can grow on a variety of substrates, has a high pH tolerance, and grows in both shade and sun, A. rubrum is a prolific seed producer and highly adaptable, often dominating disturbed sites. While many believe that it is replacing historically dominant tree species in the eastern United States such as sugar maples, beeches, oaks, hemlocks and pines, red maple will only dominate young forests prone to natural or human disturbance. In areas disturbed by humans where the species thrives, it can reduce diversity, but in a mature forest it is not a dominant species; it only has a sparse presence and adds to the diversity and ecological structure of a forest. Extensive use of red maple in landscaping has also contributed to the surge in the species' numbers as volunteer seedlings proliferate. Finally, disease epidemics have greatly reduced the population of elms and chestnuts in the forests of the US. While mainline forest trees continue to dominate mesic sites with rich soil, more marginal areas are increasingly being dominated by red maple.


Red maple's maximum lifespan is 150 years, but most live less than 100 years. The tree's thin bark is easily damaged from ice and storms, animals, and when used in landscaping, being struck by flying debris from lawn mowers, allowing fungi to penetrate and cause heart rot. Its ability to thrive in a large number of habitats is largely due to its ability to produce roots to suit its site from a young age. In wet locations, red maple seedlings produce short taproots with long, well-developed lateral roots; while on dry sites, they develop long taproots with significantly shorter laterals. The roots are primarily horizontal, however, forming in the upper 25 cm (9.8 in) of the ground. Mature trees have woody roots up to 25 m (82 ft) long. They are very tolerant of flooding, with one study showing that 60 days of flooding caused no leaf damage. At the same time, they are tolerant of drought due to their ability to stop growing under dry conditions by then producing a second growth flush when conditions later improve, even if growth has stopped for 2 weeks.
Acer rubrum is one of the first plants to flower in spring. A crop of seeds is generally produced every year with a bumper crop often occurring every second year. A single tree between 5 and 20 cm (2.0 and 7.9 in) in diameter can produce between 12,000 and 91,000 seeds in a season. A tree 30 cm (0.98 ft) in diameter was shown to produce nearly a million seeds. Red maple produces one of the smallest seeds of any of the maples. Fertilization has also been shown to significantly increase the seed yield for up to two years after application.
The seeds are epigeal and tend to germinate in early summer soon after they are released, assuming a small amount of light, moisture, and sufficient temperatures are present. If the seeds are densely shaded, then germination commonly does not occur until the next spring. Most seedlings do not survive in closed forest canopy situations. However, one- to four-year-old seedlings are common under dense canopy. Though they eventually die if no light reaches them, they serve as a reservoir, waiting to fill any open area of the canopy above.
Trees growing in a Zone 9 or 10 area such as Florida will usually die from cold damage if transferred up north, for instance to Canada, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York, even if the southern trees were planted with northern red maples. Due to their wide range, genetically the trees have adapted to the climatic differences.
Red maple is able to increase its numbers significantly when associate trees are damaged by disease, cutting, or fire. One study found that 6 years after clearcutting a 3.4 hectares (8.4 acres) Oak-Hickory forest containing no red maples, the plot contained more than 2,200 red maple seedlings per hectare (900 per acre) taller than 1.4 m (4.6 ft). One of its associates, the black cherry (Prunus serotina), contains benzoic acid, which has been shown to be a potential allelopathic inhibitor of red maple growth. Red maple is one of the first species to start stem elongation. In one study, stem elongation was one-half completed in 1 week, after which growth slowed and was 90% completed within only 54 days. In good light and moisture conditions, the seedlings can grow 30 cm (0.98 ft) in their first year and up to 60 cm (2.0 ft) each year for the next few years, making it a fast grower.
The red maple is used as a food source by several forms of wildlife. Elk and white-tailed deer in particular use the current season's growth of red maple as an important source of winter food. Several Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) utilize the leaves as food, including larvae of the rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda); see List of Lepidoptera that feed on maples.
Due to A. rubrum's very wide range, there is significant variation in hardiness, size, form, time of flushing, onset of dormancy, and other traits. Generally speaking, individuals from the north flush the earliest, have the most reddish fall color, set their buds the earliest and take the least winter injury. Seedlings are tallest in the north-central and east-central part of the range. In Florida, at the extreme south of the red maple's range, it is limited exclusively to swamplands. The fruits also vary geographically with northern individuals in areas with brief, frost-free periods producing fruits that are shorter and heavier than their southern counterparts. As a result of such variation, there is much genetic potential for breeding programs with a goal of producing red maples for cultivation. This is especially useful for making urban cultivars that require resistance from verticillium wilt, air pollution, and drought.
Red maple frequently hybridizes with silver maple; the hybrid, known as Freeman's maple, Acer × freemanii, is intermediate between the parents.


The allergenic potential of red maples varies widely based on the cultivar.
The following cultivars are completely male and are highly allergenic, with an OPALS allergy scale rating of 8 or higher:
'Autumn Flame' ('Flame')
'Autumn Spire'
'Columnare' ('Pyramidale')
'Firedance' ('Landsburg')
'Karpick'
'Northwood'
'October Brilliance'
'Sun Valley'
'Tiliford'
The following cultivars have an OPALS allergy scale rating of 3 or lower; they are completely female trees, and have low potential for causing allergies:
'Autumn Glory'
'Bowhall'
'Davey Red'
'Doric'
'Embers'
'Festival'
'October Glory'
'Red Skin'
'Red Sunset' ('Franksred')


The leaves of red maple, especially when dead or wilted, are extremely toxic to horses. The toxin is unknown, but believed to be an oxidant because it damages red blood cells, causing acute oxidative hemolysis that inhibits the transport of oxygen. This not only decreases oxygen delivery to all tissues, but also leads to the production of methemoglobin, which can further damage the kidneys. The ingestion of 700 grams (1.5 pounds) of leaves is considered toxic and 1.4 kilograms (3 pounds) is lethal. Symptoms occur within one or two days after ingestion and can include depression, lethargy, increased rate and depth of breathing, increased heart rate, jaundice, dark brown urine, colic, laminitis, coma, and death. Treatment is limited and can include the use of methylene blue or mineral oil and activated carbon in order to stop further absorption of the toxin into the stomach, as well as blood transfusions, fluid support, diuretics, and anti-oxidants such as Vitamin C. About 50% to 75% of affected horses die or are euthanized as a result.


Red maple's rapid growth, ease of transplanting, attractive form, and value for wildlife (in the eastern US) has made it one of the most extensively planted trees. In parts of the Pacific Northwest, it is one of the most common introduced trees. Its popularity in cultivation stems from its vigorous habit, its attractive and early red flowers, and most importantly, its flaming red fall foliage. The tree was introduced into the United Kingdom in 1656 and shortly thereafter entered cultivation. There it is frequently found in many parks and yards.
Red maple is a good choice of a tree for urban areas when there is ample room for its root system. Forming an association with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi can help A. rubrum grow along city streets. It is more tolerant of pollution and road salt than sugar maples, although the tree's fall foliage is not as vibrant in this environment. Like several other maples, its low root system can be invasive and it makes a poor choice for plantings near paving. It attracts squirrels, who eat its buds in the early spring, although squirrels prefer the larger buds of the silver maple.
Red maples make vibrant and colorful bonsai, and have year around attractive features for display.


Numerous cultivars have been selected, often for intensity of fall color, with 'October Glory' and 'Red Sunset' among the most popular. Toward its southern limit, 'Fireburst', 'Florida Flame', and 'Gulf Ember' are preferred. Many cultivars of the Freeman maple are also grown widely. Below is a partial list of cultivars:
'Armstrong' – Columnar to fastigate in shape with silvery bark and modest orange to red fall foliage.
'Autumn Blaze' – Rounded oval form with leaves that resemble the silver maple. The fall color is orange red and persists longer than usual.
'Autumn Flame' – A fast grower with exceptional bright red fall color developing early. The leaves are also smaller than the species.
'Autumn Radiance' – Dense oval crown with an orange-red fall color.
'Autumn Spire' – Broad columnar crown; red fall color; very hardy.
'Bowhall' – Conical to upright in form with a yellow-red fall color.
'Burgundy Bell' – Compact rounded uniform shape with long lasting, burgundy fall leaves.
'Columnare' – An old cultivar growing to 20 metres (66 feet) with a narrow columnar to pyramidal form with dark green leaves turning orange and deep red in fall.
'Gerling' – A compact, slow growing selection, this individual only reaches 10 metres (33 feet) and has orange-red fall foliage.
'Northwood' – Branches are at a 45 degree angle to the trunk, forming a rounded oval crown. Though the foliage is deep green in summer, its orange-red fall color is not as impressive as other cultivars.
'October Brilliance' – This selection is slow to leaf in spring, but has a tight crown and deep red fall color.
'October Glory' – Has a rounded oval crown with late developing intense red fall foliage. Along with 'Red Sunset', it is the most popular selection due to the dependable fall color and vigorous growth. This cultivar has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
'Redpointe' – Superior in alkaline soil, strong central leader, red fall color.
'Red Sunset' – is also a recipient of the Award of Garden Merit. The other very popular choice, this selection does well in heat due to its drought tolerance and has an upright habit. It has very attractive orange-red fall color and is also a rapid and vigorous grower.
'Scarlet Sentinel' – A columnar to oval selection with 5-lobed leaves resembling the silver maple. The fall color is yellow-orange to orange-red and the tree is a fast grower.
'Schlesingeri' – A tree with a broad crown and early, long lasting fall color that is a deep red to reddish purple. Growth is also quite rapid. The original tree grew at the home of Barthold Schlesinger in Brookline, Massachusetts.
'Shade King' – This fast growing cultivar has an upright-oval form with deep green summer leaves that turn red to orange in fall.
'V.J. Drake' – This selection is notable because the edges of the leaves first turn a deep red before the color progresses into the center.


In the lumber industry Acer rubrum is considered a "soft maple", a designation it shares, commercially, with silver maple (A. saccharinum). In this context, the term "soft" is more comparative, than descriptive; i.e., "soft maple", while softer than its harder cousin, sugar maple (A. saccharum), is still a fairly hard wood, being comparable to black cherry (Prunus serotina) in this regard. Like A. saccharum, the wood of red maple is close-grained, but its texture is softer, less dense, and has not as desirable an appearance, particularly under a clear finish. However, the wood from Acer rubrum while being typically less expensive than hard maple, also has greater dimensional stability than that of A. saccharum, and also machines and stains easier. Thus, high grades of wood from the red maple can be substituted for hard maple, particularly when it comes to making stain/paint-grade furniture. Red maple lumber also contains a greater percentage of "curly" (aka "flame"/"fiddleback") figure, which is prized by musical instrument/custom furniture makers, as well as the veneer industry. As a soft maple, the wood tends to shrink more during the drying process than with the hard maples.
Red maple is also used for the production of maple syrup, though the hard maples Acer saccharum (sugar maple) and Acer nigrum (black maple) are more commonly utilized. One study compared the sap and syrup from the sugar maple with those of the red maple, as well as those of the Acer saccharinum (silver maple), Acer negundo (boxelder), and Acer platanoides (Norway maple), and all were found to be equal in sweetness, flavor, and quality. However, the buds of red maple and other soft maples emerge much earlier in the spring than the sugar maple, and after sprouting chemical makeup of the sap changes, imparting an undesirable flavor to the syrup. This being the case, red maple can only be tapped for syrup before the buds emerge, making the season very short.
Native Americans used red maple bark as a wash for inflamed eyes and cataracts, and as a remedy for hives and muscular aches. They also would brew tea from the inner bark to treat coughs and diarrhea. Pioneers made cinnamon-brown and black dyes from a bark extract, and iron sulphate could be added to the tannin from red maple bark in order to make ink.
Red maple is a medium quality firewood, possessing less heat energy, nominally 5.4 gigajoules per cubic metre (18.7 million British thermal units per cord) ,
than other hardwoods such as ash: 7.0 GJ/m³ (24 million British thermal units per cord), oak: 7.0 GJ/m³ (24 million British thermal units per cord), or birch: 6.1 GJ/m³ (21 million British thermal units per cord).


Acer saccharinum, commonly known as silver maple, creek maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, large maple, water maple, swamp maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to the eastern and central United States and southeastern Canada. It is one of the most common trees in the United States.
Although the silver maple's Latin name is similar, it should not be confused with Acer saccharum, the sugar maple. Some of the common names are also applied to other maples, especially Acer rubrum.


The silver maple tree is a relatively fast-growing deciduous tree, commonly reaching a height of 15–25 m (49–82 ft), exceptionally 35 m (115 ft). Its spread will generally be 11–15 m (36–49 ft) wide. A 10-year-old sapling will stand about 8 m (26 ft) tall. It is often found along waterways and in wetlands, leading to the colloquial name "water maple". It is a highly adaptable tree, although it has higher sunlight requirements than other maple trees.
The leaves are simple and palmately veined, 8–16 cm (3+1⁄4–6+1⁄4 in) long and 6–12 cm (2+1⁄4–4+3⁄4 in) broad, with deep angular notches between the five lobes. The 5–12 cm (2–4+3⁄4 in) long, slender stalks of the leaves mean that even a light breeze can produce a striking effect as the downy silver undersides of the leaves are exposed. The autumn color is less pronounced than in many maples, generally ending up a pale yellow, although some specimens can produce a more brilliant yellow and even orange and red colorations. The tree has a tendency to color and drop its leaves slightly earlier in autumn than other maples.
The flowers are in dense clusters, produced before the leaves in early spring, with the seeds maturing in early summer. The fruit are samaras, each containing a single seed, and winged, in pairs, small (5–10 mm or 0.20–0.39 in in diameter), the wing about 3–5 cm (1+1⁄4–2 in) long. The fruit are the largest among the maples native to its range. Although the wings provide for some transport by air, the fruit are heavy and are also transported by water. Silver maple and its close cousin red maple are the only Acer species which produce their fruit crop in spring instead of fall. The seeds of both trees have no epigeal dormancy and will germinate immediately. Seed production begins at 11 years of age and large crops are produced most years. Like most maples, silver maple can be variably dioecious (separate male or female trees) or monoecious (male and female flowers on the same tree) but dioecious trees are far more common. They can also change sex from year to year.
On mature trunks, the bark is gray and shaggy. On branches and young trunks, the bark is smooth and silvery gray.


Wildlife uses the silver maple in various ways. In many parts of the eastern U.S., the large rounded buds are one of the primary food sources for squirrels during the spring, after many acorns and nuts have sprouted and the squirrels' food is scarce. The seeds are also a food source for chipmunks and birds. The bark can be eaten by beaver and deer. The trunks tend to produce cavities, which can shelter squirrels, raccoons, opossums, owls and woodpeckers, and are frequented by carpenter ants. Additionally, the leaves serve as a source of food for species of Lepidoptera, such as the rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda).
The wood can be used as pulp for making paper. Lumber from the tree is used in furniture, cabinets, flooring, musical instruments, crates, and tool handles, because it is light and easily worked. Because of the silver maple's fast growth, it is being researched as a potential source of biofuels. Silver maple produces a sweet sap but it is generally not used by commercial sugarmakers because its sugar content is lower than in other maple species.
Silver maple is often planted as an ornamental tree because of its rapid growth and ease of propagation and transplanting. It is highly tolerant of urban situations and is frequently planted next to streets. However, its quick growth produces brittle wood which is commonly damaged in storms. The silver maple's root system is shallow and fibrous and easily invades septic fields and old drain pipes; it can also crack sidewalks and foundations. It is a vigorous resprouter, and if not pruned, will often grow with multiple trunks. Although it naturally is found near water, it can grow on drier ground if planted there. In ideal natural conditions, A. saccharinum may live up to 130 years but in urban environments often 80 or less.
Following World War II, silver maples were commonly used as a landscaping and street tree in suburban housing developments and cities due to their rapid growth, especially as a replacement for the blighted American elm. However, they fell out of favor for this purpose because of brittle wood, unattractive form when not pruned or trained, and tendency to produce large numbers of volunteer seedlings. Today the tree has fallen so far out of favor that some towns and cities have banned its use as a street tree.
Silver maple's natural range encompasses most of the eastern US, the Midwestern US and southern Canada, that being Southern Ontario and southwestern Quebec. It is generally absent from the humid US coastal plain south of Maryland, so it is confined to the Appalachians in those states. It does not  occur along the Gulf Coast or in Florida outside a few scattered locations in the panhandle.
It is commonly cultivated outside its native range, showing tolerance of a wide range of climates, and growing successfully as far north as central Norway. It also is in Anchorage, Alaska. It can thrive in a Mediterranean climate, as at Jerusalem and Los Angeles, if summer water is provided. It is also grown in temperate parts of the Southern Hemisphere: Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, the southern states of Brazil (and in a few low-temperature locations within the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais).
The silver maple is closely related to the red maple (Acer rubrum) and can hybridise with it. The hybrid is known as the Freeman maple (Acer × freemanii). The Freeman maple is a popular ornamental tree in parks and large gardens, combining the fast growth of silver maple with the less brittle wood, less invasive roots, and the beautiful bright red fall foliage of the red maple. The cultivar Acer × freemanii Autumn Blaze = 'Jeffersred' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
The silver maple is the favored host of the maple bladder gall mite Vasates quadripedes.


Acer saccharum, the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the primary source of maple syrup and for its brightly colored fall foliage. It may also be known as "rock maple", "sugar tree", "birds-eye maple", "sweet maple", "curly maple", or "hard maple", particularly when referring to the wood.


Acer saccharum is a deciduous tree normally reaching heights of 25–35 m (80–115 ft), and exceptionally up to 45 m (150 ft). A 10-year-old tree is typically about 5 m (20 ft) tall. As with most trees, forest-grown sugar maples form a much taller trunk and narrower canopy than open-growth ones.
The leaves are deciduous, up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long and wide, palmate, with five lobes and borne in opposite pairs. The basal lobes are relatively small, while the upper lobes are larger and deeply notched. In contrast with the angular notching of the silver maple, however, the notches tend to be rounded at their interior. The fall color is often spectacular, ranging from bright yellow on some trees through orange to fluorescent red-orange on others. Sugar maples also have a tendency to color unevenly in fall. In some trees, all colors above can be seen at the same time. They also share a tendency with red maples for certain parts of a mature tree to change color weeks ahead of or behind the remainder of the tree. The leaf buds are pointy and brown-colored. The recent year's growth twigs are green, and turn dark brown.
The flowers are in panicles of five to ten together, yellow-green and without petals; flowering occurs in early spring after 30–55 growing degree days. The sugar maple will generally begin flowering when it is between 10 and 200 years old. The fruit is a pair of samaras (winged seeds). The seeds are globose, 7–10 mm (9⁄32–13⁄32 in) in diameter, the wing 2–3 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄4 in) long. The seeds fall from the tree in autumn, where they must be exposed to 45 days of temperatures below 4 °C (39 °F) to break their coating down. Germination of A. saccharum is slow, not taking place until the following spring when the soil has warmed and all frost danger is past.
It is closely related to the black maple, which is sometimes included in this species, but sometimes separated as Acer nigrum. The western American bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum) is also treated as a variety or subspecies of sugar maple by some botanists.
The sugar maple can be confused with the Norway maple, which is not native to America but is commonly planted in cities and suburbs, and they are not closely related within the genus. The sugar maple is most easily identified by clear sap in the leaf petiole (the Norway maple has white sap), brown, sharp-tipped buds (the Norway maple has blunt, green or reddish-purple buds), and shaggy bark on older trees (the Norway maple bark has small grooves). Also, the leaf lobes of the sugar maple have a more triangular shape, in contrast to the squarish lobes of the Norway maple.
Although many people think a red sugar maple leaf is featured on the flag of Canada, the official maple leaf does not belong to any particular maple species; although it perhaps most closely resembles a sugar maple leaf of all the maple species in Canada, the leaf on the flag was specially designed to be as identifiable as possible on a flag waving in the wind without regard to whether it resembled a particular species' foliage.


The sugar maple is an extremely important species to the ecology of many forests in the northern United States and Canada. Pure stands are common, and it is a major component of the northern and Midwestern U.S. hardwood forests. Due to its need for cold winters, sugar maple is mostly found north of the 42nd parallel in USDA growing zones 3–5. It is less common in the southern part of its range (USDA Zone 6) where summers are hot and humid; there sugar maple is confined to ravines and moist flatlands. In the east, from Maryland southward, it is limited to the Appalachians. In the west, Tennessee represents the southern limit of its range and Missouri its southwestern limit. Collection of sap for sugar is also not possible in the southern part of sugar maple's range as winter temperatures do not become cold enough.
The minimum seed-bearing age of sugar maple is about 30 years. The tree is long-lived, typically 200 years and occasionally as much as 300.
Sugar maple is native to areas with cooler climates and requires a hard freeze each winter for proper dormancy. In northern parts of its range, January temperatures average about −18 °C (0 °F) and July temperatures about 16 °C (61 °F); in southern parts, January temperatures average about 10 °C (50 °F) and July temperatures average almost 27 °C (81 °F). Seed germination also requires extremely low temperatures, the optimal being just slightly above freezing, and no other known tree species has this property. Germination of sugar maple seed in temperatures above 50 °F (10 °C) is rare to nonexistent.
Acer saccharum is among the most shade tolerant of large deciduous trees. Its shade tolerance is exceeded only by the striped maple, a smaller tree. Like other maples, its shade tolerance is manifested in its ability to germinate and persist under a closed canopy as an understory plant, and respond with rapid growth to the increased light formed by a gap in the canopy. Sugar maple can tolerate virtually any soil type short of pure sand, but does not tolerate xeric or swampy conditions.
Sugar maples are deeper-rooted than most maples and engage in hydraulic lift, drawing water from lower soil layers and exuding that water into upper, drier soil layers. This not only benefits the tree itself, but also many other plants growing around it.
Human influences have contributed to the decline of the sugar maple in many regions. Its role as a species of mature forests has led it to be replaced by more opportunistic species in areas where forests are cut over. The sugar maple also exhibits a greater susceptibility to pollution than other species of maple. Acid rain and soil acidification are some of the primary contributing factors to maple decline. Also, the increased use of salt over the last several decades on streets and roads for deicing purposes has decimated the sugar maple's role as a street tree. The mushroom Pholiota squarrosoides is known to decay the logs of the tree.
In some parts of New England, particularly near urbanized areas, the sugar maple is being displaced by the Norway maple. The Norway maple is also highly shade tolerant, but is considerably more tolerant of urban conditions, resulting in the sugar maple's replacement in those areas. In addition, Norway maple produces much larger crops of seeds, allowing it to out-compete native species.


The sugar maple is one of the most important Canadian trees, being, with the black maple, the major source of sap for making maple syrup. Other maple species can be used as a sap source for maple syrup, but some have lower sugar content and/or produce more cloudy syrup than these two. In maple syrup production from Acer saccharum, the sap is extracted from the trees using a tap placed into a hole drilled through the phloem, just inside the bark. The collected sap is then boiled. As the sap boils, the water evaporates and the syrup is left behind. Forty gallons of maple sap produces 1 gallon of syrup. In the southern part of their range, sugar maples produce little sap; syrup production is dependent on the tree growing in cooler climates.
The seeds can be soaked, and—with their wings removed—boiled, seasoned, and roasted to make them edible. The young leaves and inner bark can be eaten raw or cooked.


The sapwood can be white, and smaller logs may have a higher proportion of this desirable wood. Bowling alleys and bowling pins are both commonly manufactured from sugar maple. Trees with wavy woodgrain, which can occur in curly, quilted, and "birdseye maple" forms, are especially valued. Maple is also the wood used for basketball courts, including the floors used by the NBA, and it is a popular wood for baseball bats, along with white ash. In recent years, because white ash has become threatened by emerald ash borer, sugar maple wood has increasingly displaced it for baseball bat production. It is also widely used in the manufacture of musical instruments, such as the members of the violin family (sides and back), guitars (neck), grand pianos (rim), and drum shells. It is also often used in the manufacture of sporting goods.
Canadian maple, often referred to as "Canadian hardrock maple", is prized for pool cues, especially the shafts. Some production-line cues will use lower-quality maple wood with cosmetic issues, such as "sugar marks", which are most often light brown discolorations caused by sap in the wood. The best shaft wood has a very consistent grain, with no marks or discoloration. Sugar marks usually do not affect how the cue plays, but are not as high quality as those without it. The wood is also used in skateboards, gunstocks, and flooring for its strength. Canadian hardrock maple is also used in the manufacture of electric guitar necks due to its high torsional stability and the bright, crisp resonant tone it produces. If the grain is curly, with flame or quilt patterns, it's usually reserved for more expensive instruments. In high-end guitars this wood is sometimes Torrefied to cook out the Lignin resins, allowing the greater stability to climate & environmental changes, and to enhance its tonal characteristics as the instrument's resonance is more evenly distributed across the cellulose structure of the wood without the lignin.


Sugar maple was a favorite street and park tree during the 19th century because it was easy to propagate and transplant, is fairly fast-growing, and has beautiful fall color. As noted above, however, it proved too delicate to continue in that role after the rise of automobile-induced pollution and was replaced by Norway maple and other hardier species. It is intolerant of road salt.
The shade and the shallow, fibrous roots may interfere with grass growing under the trees. Deep, well-drained loam is the best rooting medium, although sugar maples can grow well on sandy soil which has a good buildup of humus. Light (or loose) clay soils are also well known to support sugar maple growth. Poorly drained areas are unsuitable, and the species is especially short-lived on flood-prone clay flats. Its salt tolerance is low and it is very sensitive to boron. The species is also subject to defoliation when there are dense populations of larvae of Lepidoptera species like the rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda).


'Apollo' – columnar
'Arrowhead' – pyramidal crown
'Astis' ('Steeple') – heat-tolerant, good in southeastern USA, oval crown
'Bonfire' – fast growing
'Caddo' – naturally occurring southern ecotype or subspecies, from Southwestern Oklahoma, great drought and heat tolerance, good choice for the Great Plains region
'Columnare' ('Newton Sentry') – very narrow
'Fall Fiesta' – tough-leaved, colorful in season, above-average hardiness
'Goldspire' – columnar with yellow-orange fall color
'Green Mountain' (PNI 0285) – durable foliage resists heat and drought, oval crown, above-average hardiness
'Inferno' – possibly the hardiest cultivar, with more red fall color than 'Lord Selkirk' or 'Unity'
'Legacy' – tough, vigorous and popular
'Lord Selkirk' – very hardy, more upright than other northern cultivars
'Monumentale' – columnar
'September Flare' - very hardy, early orange-red fall color
'Sweet Shadow' – lacy foliage
'Temple's Upright' – almost as narrow as 'Columnare'
'Unity' – very hardy, from Manitoba, slow steady growth


The Mohegan use the inner bark as a cough remedy, and the sap as a sweetening agent, and to make maple syrup following the introduction of metal cookware by Europeans.


The national champion for Acer saccharum is located in Charlemont, Massachusetts. In 2007, the year it was submitted, it had a circumference of 5.92 m (233 inches, 19.4 ft) at 1.3 meters above the ground's surface, and thus a diameter at breast height of about 1.88 m (6.18 ft). At that time the tree was 34.1 m (112 ft) tall with an average crown spread of 27.7 m (91 ft). Using the scoring system of circumference in inches plus height in feet plus 25% of crown spread in feet resulted in a total number of 368 points at the National Register of Big Trees. A tree in Lyme, Connecticut, measured in 2012, had a circumference of 18.25 feet (5.56 m), or an average diameter at breast height of about 5.8 feet (1.77 m). This tree had been 123 ft (37.5 m) tall with a crown spread of 86 ft (26.2 m), counting for a total number of 364 points.


The sugar maple is the state tree of the US states of New York, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
It is depicted on the state quarter of Vermont, issued in 2001.


Acer spicatum, the mountain maple, dwarf maple, moose maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to northeastern North America from Saskatchewan to Newfoundland, and south to Pennsylvania. It also grows at high elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.


Acer spicatum is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 3–8 m (10–25 ft) tall, forming a spreading crown with a short trunk and slender branches. The leaves are opposite and simple, 6–10 cm (2+1⁄4–4 in) long and wide, with 3 or 5 shallow broad lobes. They are coarsely and irregularly toothed with a light green hairless surface and a finely hairy underside. The leaves turn brilliant yellow to red in autumn, and are on slender stalks usually longer than the blade. The bark is thin, dull gray-brown, and smooth at first but becoming slightly scaly. The fruit is a paired reddish samara, 2–3 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄4 in) long, maturing in late summer to early autumn.


The tree lives in moist woods in rich, well-drained soils on rocky hillsides and along streams. It also grows on ravines, cliff faces, and forested bogs. It colonizes the understory of hardwood forests.
Mammals such as moose, deer, beavers, and rabbits browse the bark; ruffed grouse eat the buds.


Acer tataricum is a deciduous spreading shrub or small tree growing to 4–12 metres (13–39 ft) tall, with a short trunk up to 20–50 centimetres (7.9–19.7 in) diameter and slender branches. The bark is thin, pale brown, and smooth at first but becoming shallowly fissured on old plants. The leaves are opposite and simple, broadly ovate, 4.5–10 centimetres (1.8–3.9 in) long and 3–7 centimetres (1.2–2.8 in) broad, unlobed or with three or five shallow lobes, and matte green above; the leaf margin is coarsely and irregularly toothed; the leaf petiole is slender, often pink-tinged, 2–5 centimetres (0.79–1.97 in) long. The flowers are whitish-green, 5–8 millimetres (0.20–0.31 in) diameter, produced in spreading panicles in spring as the leaves open. The fruit is a paired reddish samara, 10–12 millimetres (0.39–0.47 in) long with a 2–3 centimetres (0.79–1.18 in) wing, maturing in late summer to early autumn.


Subspecies
subspecies accepted by the Plant List maintained by Kew Gardens in London.
Acer tataricum subsp. aidzuense (Franch.) P.C.DeJong
Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala (Maxim.) Wesm. 	 Japan, Korea, Mongolia, eastern Russia, northeastern and central China
Acer tataricum subsp. semenovii (Regel & Herder) A.E.Murray - Tibet, Afghanistan, southern Russia, Iran
Acer tataricum subsp. tataricum - Caucasus, Turkey, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine
Acer tataricum subsp. theiferum (W.P.Fang) Y.S.Chen & P.C.de Jong - China
Acer tataricum is related to Acer ginnala (Amur maple) from northeastern Asia; this is treated as a subspecies of Tatar maple (Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala) by some botanists but not by others. They differ conspicuously in the glossy, deeply lobed leaves of A. ginnala, compared to the matte, unlobed or only shallowly lobed leaves of A. tataricum.


Tatar maple is occasionally grown as an ornamental plant in gardens throughout Europe and also in North America. In Russia, it is valued in farmland shelterbelts. It is locally naturalised in eastern North America.


Achaea janata, the castor semi-looper or croton caterpillar, is an erebid moth, the caterpillars of which are termed 'semi-loopers' due to their mode of locomotion. It is found from the Indo-Australian tropics and subtropics, extending south to New Zealand and east through the Pacific archipelagoes to Easter Island. It is a major pest of castor throughout the world.


Its wingspan is about 60–70 mm. The species has a pale reddish-brown body. Forewings with prominent markings. A short sub-basal waved line and an obliquely waved antemedial and excised postmedial lines are present. Postmedial lines are often black suffused inside them. A speck is found at the end of the cell. A diffuse rufous band runs beyond the postmedial line, Hindwings black with medial white band. Three large white spots can be seen on outer margin, with whitish cilia. Ventral side grey suffused. Forewings with an oblique white postmedial band not reaching the costa. Two crenulate medial lines found on each wing.
Eggs are small, spherical with a greenish color. Pupa is whitish green.
Larva bluish grey speckled with blue black. Head black striped. Lateral and sub-lateral yellowish bands with intervening blue-grey line. A dorsal black stripe bordered by reddish-white spots between fourth and fifth somites. There is a pair of dorsal red tubercles on anal somite. Spiracles and forelegs are red. Four larval instars are completed before pupal stage.
They feed on Excoecaria cochinchinensis (Euphorbiaceae), castor oil plant (Ricinus communis), both Brassica and Ficus species and many more crops like Arachis hypogaea, Citrus, Corchorus, Dalbergia sissoo, Dodonaea viscosa, Euphorbia hirta, Glycine max, Lagenaria siceraria, Punica granatum, Rosa chinensis, Solanum lycopersicum, Tamarindus indica, Theobroma cacao, Vigna mungo and Ziziphus mauritiana.


As they feed off the castor oil plant they may be extremely poisonous and should be avoided at all costs. Caterpillars damage foliage, resulting in defoliation and reduction of photosynthesis process. They also attack stems and bore into them, and finally the whole plant wilts and dies.
Efforts to control the species are mainly mechanical, biological and chemical methods. Hand picking of late instars and usage of pheromone traps and light traps are effective in removing adults. Many parasitoids are used in biological control. Eggs can be destroyed using Trichogramma evanescens. Microplitis maculipennis is effective against caterpillars. Chalcid species Euplectrus and another a braconid, Rhogas are also used. In chemical control, quinalphos, chlorpyrifos, carbaryl, monocrotophos, endosulphan sprays are used. Neem seed kernel extract sprays are used to destroy eggs.


Achatia distincta, the distinct quaker, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1813. It is found from coast to coast in most of United States and south-eastern Canada (from Quebec to Manitoba).
The wingspan is 30–37 mm. Adults are on wing from late March to early May. There is one generation per year.
The larvae feed on the leaves of ash, birch, butternut, flowering crabapple, grape, hickory, maple and oak.


The African death's-head hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos) is large hawk moth, and the largest moth in the British Isles and several other regions it inhabits, with a wingspan of 5 in (13 cm) (or 80–120 mm); it is a powerful flier, having sometimes been found on ships far from land. The forewings are a mottled dark brown and pale brown, and the hind wings are orangey-buff with two narrow dark bands parallel with the hind margin. The abdomen is a similar orangey-brown, with a broad, dark dorsal stripe. The most notable feature is a patch of short yellowish hairs on the thorax that gives the impression of depicting a human skull. It is a striking insect, but is seldom seen because it flies late in the night.
Its wing and body structure is typical of that seen in the family Sphingidae. The upper set of wings are brown with hints of yellow, amber, charcoal and cream; the lower wings are yellow with two brown stripes fashioned in waves extending diagonally across the surface. At rest, the wings of the moth fold downwards, concealing the hindwings behind the forewings. The abdomen of A. atropos is robust and is covered in brown, feathery down. Yellow striping that highly resembles the colour patterns of a hornet extends part way across each abdominal segment. The intensity and distribution of colour can vary widely in individual specimens, with some individuals occasionally found expressing an indistinguishable "skull-like" pattern on the thorax.
A 2020 study describes how, when viewed upside-down,  Acherontia atropos creates an illusion of a head with eyes: the mark on its thorax likened to a human skull is the "nose", with the skull's eye-sockets resembling nostrils. Spots on its forewings can be seen as eyes, and various other markings and features can be interpreted as ears,  muzzle and lips. This illusion is also present in Agrius convolvuli (convolvulus hawk-moth) and five other species, with the study author suggesting that the function of the illusion of an eyed head is "almost certainly to deter, distract or otherwise deceive predators".
The species shows sexual dimorphism, as in most Lepidoptera. Female moths of this species tend to be larger than males, appearing bulkier and sporting larger, more robust abdomens. The abdomen of a male Acherotia atropos is less broad, with a pointed distal (lower) abdominal segment. In contrast, the females of the species have a distal abdominal segment that is rounded off at the tip. Antennae seen on a male are thinner and shorter than the antennae seen on a female. There are no pattern or colour changes related to the sex of an A. atropos.
The caterpillar of the African death's-head hawkmoth is also sturdy and somewhat variable in colour, being some shade of buff, green or brown, with seven diagonal blue lines. At the rear is a curved, thorn-like horn. It can attain a length of 5 to 6 in (13 to 15 cm). The other two species of death's-head hawkmoth similarly have three larval color forms: typically, green, brown and yellow. The pupa is stout and reddish-brown, and is formed 8 to 10 in (20 to 25 cm) under the ground in a chamber the size of a large hen's egg.


Oryzopsis hymenoides (syn: Stipa hymenoides or Achnatherum hymenoides, common names: Indian ricegrass and sand rice grass) is a cool-season, perennial bunchgrass with narrow, rolled leaf blades. It is native to western North America east of the Cascades from British Columbia and Alberta south to southern California, northeastern Mexico, and Texas.


In the wild, it typically grows 4 to 24 in (10 to 61 cm) tall and 8 to 12 in (20 to 30 cm) wide.


Indian ricegrass is an important food for livestock and for wild grazers such as bison, desert bighorn sheep, elk, mule deer, pronghorns, and jackrabbits.  For some of these species, it is especially vital in late winter, as it produces green shoots earlier than other grasses.  The seeds are heavily consumed by many rodents and birds, notably mourning doves.
This tough grass is known for its ability to reseed and establish itself on sites damaged by fire or overgrazing.  Much germination occurs in years with wet Aprils. It is grown in xeriscapes—cultivars are available—and will become quite large if given sufficient space. The open, spangled appearance when in flower or fruit is very attractive, especially in backlight. The flower stalk is commonly used in dry flower arrangements.


It was officially recognized as the Nevada state grass in 1977, and as the Utah state grass in 1990.
The Utah Section of the Society for Range Management began campaigning for a state grass in the mid-1980s, and after studying many species the field was narrowed to four candidates, Indian ricegrass, bluebunch wheatgrass, galleta grass, and Great Basin wildrye. Indian ricegrass was then selected. The state-grass bill was introduced by Senator Alarik Myrin, a member of the Society, in 1989.


Achyra rantalis, the garden webworm, is a moth of the family Crambidae described by Achille Guenée in 1854. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Maine to southern Quebec and Ontario, south to Florida and Mexico. It has also been recorded from Iowa, Colorado, California and the West Indies. Its habitat consists of fields and gardens.
The wingspan is 17–23 millimetres (0.67–0.91 in). There may be up to four generations per year in the south.
The larvae feed on the leaves of various low-growing plants, including alfalfa, beans, clover, corn, cotton, peas and strawberries.


The only species in the monotypic genus Achyrachaena is the annual herb Achyrachaena mollis, which bears the common name blow-wives. The genus name is both singular and plural.
The plant is common in low-elevation hills, higher mountains, valleys, and grasslands across California from the coast to the Sierra Nevada, north into southern Oregon, and south into northern Baja California, Mexico.
Achyrachaena mollis has some invasive potential in introduced locations, but is not recorded as one of the more troublesome weeds.


Achyrachaena mollis is a flower which grows to approximately one foot in height on a strong, straight stem. Atop the stem is a large, rounded bud which opens into a spherical cluster of flowers. The actual flowers are small and yellow and nearly invisible behind the showy fruits, which extend shiny bright white scales which look like long rectangular flower petals. These silky white scales catch the wind, which allows the single-seeded fruits to be dispersed.


Achyranthes aspera (common  names:  chaff-flower, prickly chaff flower, devil's horsewhip, Sanskrit: अपामार्ग apāmārga) is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropical world. It can be found in many places growing as an introduced species and a common weed. It is an invasive species in some areas, including many Pacific Islands environments.


Habit : A wild, perennial, erect herb.
Stem : Herbaceous but woody below, erect, branched, cylindrical, solid, angular, hairy, longitudinally striated, nodes and internodes are prominent, green but violet or pink at nodes.
Leaves : Ramal and cauline, simple, exstipulate, opposite decussate, petiolate, ovate or obovate, entire, acute or acuminate, hairy all over, unicostate reticulate.
Inflorescence : A spike with reflexed flowers arranged on long peduncle.
Flowers :Bracteate , bracteolate , bracteoles two, shorter than perianth , dry, membranous and persistent, sessile, complete, hermaphrodite, actinomorphic , pentamerous, hypogynous, small, spinescent, green.
Bracts ovate, persistent, awned.
Perianth made up of 5 tepals, polyphyllous, imbricate or quincuncial, green, ovate to oblong, persistent.
Androecium made up of 10 stamens, out of which 5 are fertile and 5 are scale-like, fimbriated, sterile staminodes, both alternating with each other, fertile stamens are antiphyllous, monadelphous, filaments slightly fused at the base, dithecous, dorsifixed or versatile, introrse.
Gynoecium: it is bicarpellary, syncarpous, superior, unilocular, ovule one, basal placentation, style single and filiform, stigma capitate.
Fruits : Oblong utricle
Seeds : Endospermic with curved embryo, 2 mm long, oblong black.
Flowering and Fruiting time : September to April


It is very useful in dropsy, piles, boils and for colic in children.
It is also used as a cure for cough.


The juice of this plant is a potent ingredient for a mixture of wall plaster, according to the Samarāṅgaṇa Sūtradhāra, which is a Sanskrit treatise dealing with Śilpaśāstra (Hindu precepts of art and construction).
It is one of the 21 leaves used in the Ganesh Patra Pooja done regularly on Ganesh Chaturthi day.


A. aspera has been used in folk medicine in countries including Australia.
The 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that this plant was found "in all the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the old world. The herb is administered in India in cases of dropsy. The seeds are given in hydrophobia, and in cases of snake-bites, as well as in ophthalmia and cutaneous diseases. The flowering spikes, rubbed with a little sugar, are made into pills, and given internally to people bitten by mad dogs. The leaves, taken fresh and reduced to a pulp, are considered a good remedy when applied externally to the bites of scorpions. The ashes of the plant yield a considerable quantity of potash, which is used in washing clothes. The flowering spike has the reputation in India (Oude) of being a safeguard against scorpions, which it is believed to paralyse. (Drury.)"


Achyranthes aspera contains triterpenoid saponins which possess oleanolic acid as the aglycone. Ecdysterone, an insect moulting hormone, and long chain alcohols are also found in Achyranthes aspera.


Achyronychia is a monotypic genus of flowering plant containing the single species Achyronychia cooperi, which is known by the common names onyxflower and frost-mat. This plant is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of northern Mexico and the U.S. states of California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. In California, it is known from San Diego, Imperial, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Inyo Counties. In Arizona, it occurs in Yuma, Mohave, Pima, Pinal and Maricopa Counties. It has also been reported from Washington County in Utah, and from Clark County, Nevada.
Onyxflower is a diminutive plant which lies in a small mat flat on the ground. Its habitat is sand. It radiates several prostrate stems in all directions, each only a few centimeters long. The thick pale green leaves are paddle-shaped and under 2 centimeters long. In the leaf axils grow dense bunches of tiny flowers. There are no petals, but each flower has five thin shiny white sepals that look like tiny fingernails; the genus name Achyronychia is Greek for "chaff fingernail".


Acisoma panorpoides, the Asian pintail, trumpet tail, or grizzled pintail, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae.


It is a small dragonfly with blue eyes. Its thorax is azure-blue marbled with black to form a beautiful pattern on the dorsum and the sides. Abdomen is azure-blue, marked with black. Segments 1 to 5 have sutures finely and ventral borders more broadly black. There is a dorsal stripe which broadens at the jugal sutures and apical borders of segments. There is a speckled stripe on sub-dorsum of segments 1 to 4. There is a large ventro-lateral spot on each of segments 3 to 5. Segments 6 and 7 are black with a large spot of blue on each side. Segments 8 to 10 are entirely black. Anal appendages are bluish-white. Female is similar to the male; but with greenish-yellow eyes, thorax and abdominal segments up to 5.
The characteristic shape of the abdomen will serve to distinguish this species from other Libellulidae.


It is found in subtropical or tropical swampy or marshy habitats. It has a very weak and short flight and keeps close to the herbage and reeds in the heavily weeded ponds and lakes where it breeds.


Acmella repens is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The plant is native to the southeastern and south-central United States, primarily in the coastal plain from Texas to North Carolina and in the lower Mississippi Valley from Missouri to Louisiana. There are additional populations in Coahuila in northeastern Mexico.


Acmispon americanus, known by the common names American bird's-foot trefoil and Spanish clover, is a species of legume native to most habitats of California, the Western United States,  Western Canada, and northern Mexico.


The plant is an upright hairy annual, growing to 25 cm. The flowers (to 6mm) are pale pink to cream.
Subspecies
Acmispon americanus is often discussed as comprising several varieties, including:
Acmispon americanus var. americanus


Acmispon glaber (previously Lotus scoparius) (common deerweed, deer weed, deervetch, California broom or western bird's-foot trefoil) is a perennial subshrub in the family Fabaceae (pea family). The plant is a pioneer species found in dry areas of California, Arizona, and Mexico.  It is commonly found in many areas including chaparral, coastal sand and roadsides at elevations below 1500 m.


The Acmispon glaber stems are green, erect, somewhat branched, with small, deciduous, pinnate leaves consisting of three to six leaflets. The plant blooms from about March to August and has flowers that are bilateral, small (7–11 mm), yellow, and clustered together in an inflorescence consisting of two to seven flowers in the upper leaf axils.  The flowers become reddish with age.  The fruit consists of a curved legume with two seeds.


Acmispon glaber is a food consumed by numerous wildlife, providing intake for hummingbirds, bees, butterfly larvae, and deer.  Among the larvae are the Acmon blue, Afranius duskywing, Avalon scrub hairstreak, bramble hairstreak, funereal duskywing, and northern cloudywing. Common plant associates in chaparral, especially in the transition between coastal chaparral and coastal sage scrub, include California sagebrush and toyon.
Landowners seeking to provide a home for reintroducing the Palos Verdes blue butterfly have been required to have sufficient Acmispon glaber plants to provide the butterflies with shelter.
Adult Acmispon glaber plants are usually killed by fire due to their thin epidermis and broom-like foliage that burns easily, but the seeds of Acmispon glaber are scarified by fire and readily germinate in the first rainy season after a fire. For 2 to 3 years after a fire in a sage scrub habitat, the flora consists primarily of herbaceous annuals and short-lived herbaceous perennials, but after the first 2–3 years, Acmispon glaber generally becomes dominant, being gradually replaced by long-lived shrubs after 5–10 years post-fire.
Due to their seeds' fire adaptation, Acmispon glaber benefits from heat scarification in cultivation. Heat treatment significantly increases germination rate.
Acmispon glaber var. brevialatus  is endemic to California.


Ottleya strigosa, synonyms Lotus strigosus and Acmispon strigosus, is a flowering plant in the pea family (Fabaceae), native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is known as stiff-haired lotus or strigose bird's-foot trefoil.


Ottleya strigosa is a prostrate annual herb. It is sometimes roughly hairy as its name suggests, but it may be somewhat woolly, fuzzy, or nearly hairless as well. Its slender branches are lined with leaves each made of several small leaflets. The leaves are 1/2" to 1" long. They are pinnately divided, with 4-9 obovate, alternate, leaflets, on a flattened rachis. The inflorescence bears one or two yellow to orange or red pealike flowers, each with a corolla one half to one centimeter across. The fruit is a legume pod 1 to 3 centimeters long.


It is native to the southwestern United States (California and Nevada) and northern Mexico, where it is known from many types of habitat, including disturbed areas.


Aconitum columbianum is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common names Columbian monkshood or western monkshood.
This wildflower is native to western North America where it grows in riparian and other moist areas, in meadows and coniferous forests. It is found from 600–2,900 metres (2,000–9,500 ft) in elevation.


Aconitum columbianum is a tall spindly erect to scandent forb which is perennial from rhizomes. It has lobed or toothed leaves and long stems with far-spaced flowers.
The folded, wrinkly flowers are often deep blue or purple, but may also be white or yellowish, and they usually have a spur. The fruits are pod-like follicles.
Like other monkshoods (Aconitum species), this plant is poisonous to humans and livestock, although some species have been used to make drugs.


Subspecies and varieties include:
Aconitum columbianum ssp. columbianum
Aconitum columbianum var. howellii — Howell's monkshood
Aconitum columbianum ssp. viviparum


Aconitum lycoctonum (wolf's-bane or northern wolf's-bane) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Aconitum, of the family Ranunculaceae, native to much of Europe and northern Asia.
Lycoctonum is a rendering in modern Latin of the traditional name "wolf's-bane".
It is an herbaceous perennial plant growing to 1 m tall. The leaves are palmately lobed with four to six deeply cut lobes. The flowers are 18–25 mm long, dark violet, rarely pale yellow.
Like all species in the genus, it is poisonous.


Acontia lucida, the pale shoulder, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766.


This species can be found in most of Europe, east to Turkey, Iran and India. It has also been recorded from Algeria. It is a rare migrant to the south coast of Great Britain. The pale shoulder can be found in grasslands, dry meadows, steppes, dunes and roadsides, where the host plants are present.


The wingspan of Acontia lucida can reach 26–30 mm. Head, thorax and abdomen are white. The forewings show a greyish-white front part and a wide dark brown median band, dark mottled and marbled, larger in the centre. A white mark is present on the outer edge of the forewings, while a brown mark is close to the apex. Hindwings are whitish fuscous, with a brown band near the apex. Larvae are green or brown, with transversal whitish bands.


The larvae are polyphagous, feeding on various herbaceous plants, mainly on mallow (Malva species), common marshmallow (Althaea officinalis), field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), goosefoots (Chenopodium) and dandelion (Taraxacum).  Adults are on the wing on sunny days in May and August in two generations. They are attracted to light. This species overwinters as pupa below ground. Rarely it is a migrant species.


Acorus calamus (also called sweet flag, sway or muskrat root, among many common names) is a species of flowering plant with psychoactive chemicals. It is a tall wetland monocot of the family Acoraceae, in the genus Acorus. Although used in traditional medicine over centuries to treat digestive disorders and pain, there is no clinical evidence for its safety or efficacy – and ingested calamus may be toxic – leading to its commercial ban in the United States.


Sweet flag grows in India, central Asia, southern Russia and Siberia, Europe and North America. Habitats include edges of small lakes, ponds and rivers, marshes, swamps, and other wetlands.


In addition to "sweet flag" and "calamus" other common names include beewort, bitter pepper root, calamus root, flag root, gladdon, myrtle flag, myrtle grass, myrtle root, myrtle sedge, pine root, sea sedge, sweet cane, sweet cinnamon, sweet grass, sweet myrtle, sweet root, sweet rush, and sweet sedge.
The generic name is the Latin word acorus, which is derived from the Greek άχόρου (áchórou) of Dioscorides (note different versions of the text have different spellings). The word άχόρου itself is thought to have been derived from the word κόρη (kóri), which means pupil (of an eye), because of the juice from the root of the plant being used as a remedy in diseases of the eye ('darkening of the pupil').
The specific name calamus is derived from Greek κάλαμος (kálamos, meaning "reed"), cognate to Latin culmus ("stalk") and Old English healm ("straw"), Arabic قَلَم (qálam, "pen") and Sanskrit लेखणी (lekhanee, " writing instrument", in turn from Proto-Indo European *kole-mo- (thought to mean "grass" or "reed"). The name "sweet flag" refers to its sweet scent and its similarity to Iris species, which are commonly known as flags in English since the late fourteenth century.


The plant was already mentioned in the Chester Beatty papyrus VI dating to approximately 1300 BC. The ancient Egyptians rarely mentioned the plant in medicinal contexts, but it was certainly used to make perfumes.
Initially, Europeans confused the identity and medicinal uses of the Acorus calamus of the Romans and Greeks with their native Iris pseudacorus. Thus the Herbarius zu Teutsch, published at Mainz in 1485, describes and includes a woodcut of this iris under the name Acorus. This German book is one of three possible sources for the French Le Grant Herbier, written in 1486, 1488, 1498 or 1508, of which an English translation was published as the Grete Herball by Peter Treveris in 1526, all containing the false identification of the Herbarius zu Teutsch. William Turner, writing in 1538, describes 'acorum' as "gladon or a flag, a yelowe floure delyce".
The plant was introduced to Britain in the late 16th century. By at least 1596, true Acorus calamus was grown in Britain, as it is listed in The Catalogue, a list of plants John Gerard grew in his garden at Holborn. Gerard notes "It prospereth exceeding well in my garden, but as yet beareth neither flowers nor stalke". Gerard lists the Latin name as Acorus verus, but it is evident there was still doubt about its veracity: in his 1597 herbal he lists the English common name as 'bastard calamus'. Carl O. Sauer reported the tuber to have been used by North American Indians at the time of European discovery.


There are three cytotypic forms distinguished by chromosome number: a diploid form (2n=24), an infertile triploid form (2n=36), and a tetraploid form (see below). The triploid form is the most common and is thought to have arisen relatively recently in the Himalayan region through hybridisation of the diploid with the tetraploid.
Probably indigenous to most of Asia, the triploid form Acorus calamus var. calamus (also known as var. vulgaris or var. verus) has now been introduced across Europe, Australia, New Guinea, South Africa, Réunion and North America. The tetraploid form Acorus calamus var. angustatus is native throughout Asia, from India to Japan and the Philippines and from Indonesia to Siberia. The diploid form Acorus americanus or Acorus calamus var. americanus is found in northern subarctic North America and scattered disjunct areas throughout the Mississippi Valley, and furthermore diploids are also found in Mongolia, central Siberia (Buryatia), Gilgit–Baltistan in Pakistan (claimed by India) and northern Himachal Pradesh in India. It is extinct in some parts of the United States and Canada. It may not been native to some of these areas, Pre-Columbian populations are thought to have dispersed it across parts of the United States.
Currently the taxonomic position of these forms is contested. The comprehensive taxonomic analysis in the Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families from 2002 considers all three forms to be distinct varieties of a single species. The Flora of North America publication considers the diploid form to be a distinct species, analyzing North American forms of the diploid variety, and does not analyse the morphology of Asian forms of the diploid variety. Also, in older literature, the name Acorus americanus may be used indiscriminately for all forms of Acorus calamus occurring in North America, irrespective of cytological diversity (i.e. both the diploid and triploid forms). The treatment in the Flora of China from 2010, which is followed in the Tropicos database system, considers all varieties to be synonyms of a single taxonomically undifferentiated species, pointing to morphological overlap in the characteristics singled out by Thompson.
The primary morphological distinction between the triploid and the North American forms of the diploid is made by the number of prominent leaf veins, the diploid having a single prominent midvein and on both sides of this equally raised secondary veins, the triploid having a single prominent midvein with the secondary veins barely distinct. According to the Flora of China, there is clear overlap in these characteristics and the different cytotypes are impossible to distinguish morphologically. Triploid plants are infertile and show an abortive ovary with a shrivelled appearance. This form will never form fruit (let alone seeds) and can only spread asexually.
The tetraploid variety is usually known as Acorus calamus var. angustatus Besser. A number of synonyms are known, but a number are contested as to which variety they belong. It is morphologically diverse, with some forms having very broad and some narrow leaves. It is furthermore also cytotypically diverse, with an array of different karyotypes.


A. calamus and products derived from A. calamus (such as its oil) were banned from use as human food or as a food additive in 1968 by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Although limits on consumption in food or alcoholic beverages (115 micrograms per day) were recommended in a 2001 ruling by the European Commission, the degree of safe exposure remained undefined.


Although calamus has been used for its fragrance and ingested, it has not been studied by rigorous clinical research. Individual medical reports of toxicity mention severe nausea and prolonged vomiting over many hours following oral uses. Laboratory studies of its extracts indicate other forms of toxicity, due mainly to the emetic compound β-asarone.


A. calamus has been an item of trade in many cultures for centuries. It has been used medicinally for a wide variety of ailments, such as gastrointestinal diseases and treating pain, and its aroma makes calamus essential oil valued in the perfume industry. The essence from the rhizome is used as a flavor for foods, alcoholic beverages, and bitters in Europe. It was also once used to make candy.


The young stalks can be pulled when under 30 cm (12 in); the inner stems can be eaten raw. The roots can be washed, peeled, cut into small pieces, boiled, and simmered in syrup to make candy.


Sweet flag has a long history of use in Chinese, Nepal and Indian herbal traditions. Sweet flag was used as an herbal medicine by the Chipewyan people.


This plant is sometimes used as a pond plant in horticulture. There is at least one tetraploid ornamental cultivar known; it is usually called 'Variegatus', but the RHS recommends calling it 'Argenteostriatus'.


The dried and pulverized roots contain a compound which is useful as an insecticide.


Acourtia microcephala is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name sacapellote. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in woodland and chaparral, especially in the coastal mountain ranges.
Acourtia microcephala is a bushy perennial herb producing several erect stems from a woody caudex up to about 1.5 meters in maximum height. The stems branch toward the ends and are densely foliated in toothed, wavy-edged, glandular leaves 2 to 15 centimeters long. The stems and leaves are sticky with exudate. The inflorescences contain clusters of many flower heads, each cylindrical head wrapped in long, flat glandular phyllaries. The flower heads are discoid, containing only disc florets and no ray florets. Each disc floret has two lips, the outer of which is long, flat, and usually bright pink, and easily mistaken for a ligule. The fruit is a glandular achene a few millimeters long which has a pappus of bristles up to a centimeter in length.
This plant had a traditional medicinal use as a laxative.


Acrida ungarica is a species of grasshopper found in southern and central Europe. It is commonly known as the (common) cone-headed grasshopper, nosed grasshopper, and Mediterranean slant-faced grasshopper.
Two subspecies are recognized:
Acrida ungarica mediterranea Dirsh, 1949
Acrida ungarica ungarica (Herbst, 1786)


In Hawaii, it is out-competing many native birds for food and nesting areas.
To study the invasion genetics and landscape-scale dynamics of A. tristis, scientists have recently developed 16 polymorphic nuclear microsatellite markers  using the next generation sequencing (NGS) approach.


The common myna is a hollow-nesting species; that is, it nests and breeds in protected hollows found either naturally in trees or artificially on buildings (for example, recessed windowsills or low eaves). Compared to native hollow-nesting species, the common myna is extremely aggressive, and breeding males will actively defend areas ranging up to 0.83 hectares in size (though males in densely populated urban settings tend to only defend the area immediately surrounding their nests).
This aggressiveness has enabled the common myna to displace many breeding pairs of native hollow-nesters, thereby reducing their reproductive success. In Australia, their aggressiveness has enabled them to chase native birds as large as galahs out of their nests.
The common myna is also known to maintain up to two roosts simultaneously; a temporary summer roost close to a breeding site (where the entire local male community sleeps during the summer, the period of highest aggression), and a permanent all-year roost where the female broods and incubates overnight. Both male and female common mynas will fiercely protect both roosts at all times, leading to further exclusion of native birds.


The common myna (which feeds mostly on ground-dwelling insects, tropical fruits such as grapes, plums and some berries and, in urban areas, discarded human food) poses a serious threat to Australian blueberry crops, though its main threat is to native bird species.
In Hawaii, where the common myna was introduced to control pest armyworms and cutworms in sugarcane crops, the bird has helped to spread the robust Lantana camara weed across the islands’ open grasslands. It also has been recorded as the fourth-ranking avian pest in the fruit industry by a 2004 survey of the Hawaiian Farm Bureau and the sixth in number of complaints of avian pests overall.
Common mynas can cause considerable damage to ripening fruit, particularly grapes, but also figs, apples, pears, strawberries, blueberries, guava, mangoes and breadfruit. Cereal crops such as maize, wheat and rice are susceptible where they occur near urban areas. Roosting and nesting commensal with humans create aesthetic and health concerns. Common mynas are known to carry avian malaria and exotic parasites such as the Ornithonyssus bursia mite, which can cause dermatitis in humans. The common myna can help spread agricultural weeds: for example, it spreads the seeds of Lantana camara, which has been classed as a Weed of National Significance because of its invasiveness. Common mynas are regularly observed to usurp nests and hollows, destroy the eggs and kill the young of native bird species, including seabirds and parrots. There is evidence that common mynas have killed small land
mammals such as mice, squirrels and possums, but further research on these occurrences is under consideration.


Turdus salica is actually not a thrush but a synonym of Acridotheres tristis, the common myna.


Bomford, M.; Sinclair, Ron (2002). "Australian research on bird pests: impact, management and future directions" (PDF). Emu. 102: 35. doi:10.1071/MU01028. S2CID 83464835.
Cruz, S.S.; Reynolds, S.J. (2019).  C.R. Veitch; M.N. Clout; A.R. Martin; J.C. Russell; C.J. West (eds.). "Eradication and control programmes for invasive mynas (Acridotheres spp.) and bulbuls (Pycnonotus spp.): defining best practice in managing invasive bird populations on oceanic islands" (PDF). Island Invasives: Scaling up to Meet the Challenge. Occasional Paper SSC no. 62. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN: 302–308.
Martin, W.K. (1996). "The Current and Potential Distribution of the Common Myna Acridotheres tristis in Australia" (PDF). Emu. 96 (3): 169–170. doi:10.1071/MU9960166.
Pell, A.S.; Tidemann, C.R. (1997a). "The Ecology of the Common Myna in Urban Nature Reserves in the Australian Capital Territory". Emu - Austral Ornithology. 97 (2): 141–149. doi:10.1071/MU97018. ISSN 0158-4197.
Saavedra, S; Maraver, A; Anadón, JD; Tella, JL (2015). "A survey of recent introduction events, spread and mitigation efforts of mynas (Acridotheres sp.) in Spain and Portugal" (PDF). Animal Biodiversity and Conservation. Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona. 38 (1): 121–127. doi:10.32800/abc.2015.38.0121. hdl:10261/120917.


The great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) is a Eurasian passerine in the genus Acrocephalus.
The genus name Acrocephalus is from Ancient Greek akros, "highest", and kephale, "head". It is possible that Naumann and Naumann thought akros meant "sharp-pointed". The specific arundinaceus is from Latin and means "like a reed", from arundo, arundinis, "reed".
It used to be placed in the Old World warbler assemblage, but is now recognized as part of the marsh and tree-warbler family (Acrocephalidae). Great reed warblers are medium-sized birds and are the largest of the European warblers. They breed throughout mainland Europe and the west Palearctic and migrate to sub-Saharan Africa in the winter. Great reed warblers favour reed beds as their habitat during breeding months, while living in reed beds, bush thickets, rice fields, and forest clearings during the winter. Great reed warblers exhibit relatively low sexual dimorphism, and both genders of the species are similar in appearance. This species mates both polygynously and monogamously.


The great reed warbler breeds in Europe and the west Palearctic. It does not breed in Great Britain, but is an irregular visitor. Its population has in recent decades increased around the eastern Baltic Sea, while it has become rarer at the western end of its range. It is a migratory bird, wintering in tropical Africa. This bird migrates north at a rather late date, and some birds remain in their winter quarters until the end of April.
While there are no subspecies of this bird, mtDNA haplotype data indicate that during the last glacial period there were two allopatric populations of great reed warbler. The great reed warblers in southwestern and southeastern Europe were at that time apparently separated by the Vistulian-Würm ice sheets and the surrounding barren lands. Though the data are insufficient to robustly infer a date for this separation, it suggests the populations became separated around 80,000 years ago – coincident with the first major advance of the ice sheets. The populations must have expanded their range again at the start of the Holocene about 13,000 years ago, but even today the western birds winter in the west and the eastern birds in the east of tropical Africa.
This passerine bird is found in large reed beds, often with some bushes. On their breeding grounds, they are territorial. In their winter quarters, they are frequently found in large groups, and may occupy a reed bed to the exclusion of other birds. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but it will take other prey items of small size, including vertebrates such as tadpoles.
The great reed warbler undergoes marked long-term population fluctuations, and it is able to expand its range quickly when new habitat becomes available. This common and widespread bird is considered a species of least concern by the IUCN. Population size can be calculated with a suitability model, but direct counts of territorial males in suitable habitat and sampling the population sex-ratio can be a proper alternative to inference-rich predictive modeling based on imperfect habitat-extrapolation of densities of reed warblers at large spatial scales.


A. arundinaceus has a primarily carnivorous diet. Observation of prey collection specifically during breeding season has shown the retrieval of insect larvae, moths, dragonflies, damselflies, beetles, spiders, small fish, and frogs. A. arundinaceus has also been reported to eat fruit during non-breeding seasons. Nestlings typically feed on diptera and arachnids, though this may not be their preferred food.


The sedge warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge warblers are migratory, crossing the Sahara to get from their European and Asian breeding grounds to spend winter in Africa. The male's song is composed of random chattering phrases and can include mimicry of other species. The sedge warbler is mostly insectivorous.


The sedge warbler was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Motacilla schoenobaenus. The species is now placed in the genus Acrocephalus that was introduced in 1811 by Johann Andreas Naumann and his son Johann Friedrich Naumann. British ornithologists did not distinguish the species from the Eurasian reed warbler until the 18th century. The genus name Acrocephalus is from Ancient Greek akros, "highest", and kephale, "head". It is possible that the Naumanns thought akros meant "sharp-pointed". The specific schoenobaenus is from Ancient Greek skhoinos, "reed", and baino, "to tread". It is a translation of the old Swedish name for the bird, Sävstigare. The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.


The sedge warbler has a large range and an estimated Global Extent of Occurrence of 10 million square kilometres, with a large global population including between 8.8 million and 15 million birds in Europe. Data analysis by the British Trust for Ornithology has shown that fluctuations in the sedge warbler population stem from the adult survival rate, due to changes in rainfall on the birds' wintering grounds. Global changes in population have not been measured, but the sedge warbler's status is designated 'of least concern' by BirdLife International.
It breeds across Europe and western and central Asia and is migratory. After feeding up post-breeding, they migrate quickly across southern Europe and the Sahara from August to September. Studies in Nigeria and Uganda suggest that sedge warblers return to spend winter at the same sites, year after year.
All sedge warblers spend winter in sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, and as far south as the eastern Cape Province of South Africa and northern Namibia. The routes taken on the southward migration, and their eventual wintering grounds, correspond to the birds' breeding grounds. Birds ringed in the United Kingdom and Netherlands are later found from south-west Iberia to Italy; birds from Sweden are recovered in central Europe and Italy; while Finnish birds are found in north-east Italy and Malta east to the Aegean region. Sedge warblers from the former Soviet Union take routes via the eastern Mediterranean Sea and Middle East.
Loss of wetland areas for feeding on migration, and the expansion of the Sahara desert, pose threats to the sedge warbler's breeding population. Birds begin leaving Africa in late February, fatten up at wetlands before and probably after crossing the Sahara, and arrive in Europe from March onwards.
Unlike other members of the Acrocephalus genus, the sedge warbler's range stretches from the Arctic to mid-latitudes. It is adapted to cool, cloudy and moist conditions. Though it is often found in wetlands, it can breed 500 metres or more away from water. During the breeding season, this is a species found in reedbeds, often with scrub, ditches and habitats away from water including hedgerows, patches of stinging nettles, and arable crops. On the African wintering grounds, habitats such as reeds at wetlands, papyrus, grass, sedge and reedmace and tall elephant grass are used. It can be found at altitudes of 1,800–2,400 metres above sea level in Ethiopia.


Male sedge warblers commence singing only a few hours after arriving on their breeding territory. The song is given from a bare perch such as a reed stem or bush, or from cover and during routine flights within their territory. Song-flights are also performed: while singing, the bird takes off, rises to a height of around 2–5 metres and then after a short circling flight, makes a slow, 'parachuting' descent, often with the wings held up in a 'v' shape. The song has the function of attracting a mate, rather than keeping other males away, and is stopped as soon as a mate is found. Contact calls are described as chirr or kerr; and these calls are repeated quickly to form a rattling alarm call.
Studies have found that early-arriving males occupy the best breeding territories. A study in Nottinghamshire, England, showed that a third of males which returned bred within 50 m or less of their previous breeding site, and only 14% bred further than 400 m away. Another study conducted in the Nida River valley in Poland showed that individual males tend to show the biggest shifts in territory location in the first two seasons of life (up to >400 m). This seems to be caused by an increasing early arrival on the breeding grounds in the first years. Hence, they find more potential territories left unoccupied by conspecifics upon arrival, causing them to shift to better quality ones.
Pairs are usually social monogamous, but not strictly so. Males commonly practice promiscuity, and part of the males settle a new territory and resume territorial behavior whilst the female incubates the first clutch. When successfully pairing with another female the male will usually take part in rearing both broods.
If eggs or chicks are predated, the female will often leave the male, who then resumes singing and pairs with another female. Hybridisation with the Eurasian reed warbler has been recorded.
The male defends a territory of around 0.1 to 0.2 hectares; in a study at Zaanstad, Netherlands, 68 territories were studied, with an average size of 1064 metres square one year, and 904 m sq the next. The nest, built by the female, is in vegetation on the ground or up to a height of 50 cm. The cup-shaped structure has an outer layer of grass, stems and leaves, plus spiders' webs, with a thick, finer layer inside including reed flowers, animal hair and plant down. It is woven around vertical plant stems. From 3 to 5 greenish-yellow and brown-mottled eggs are laid, measuring 18 x 13 mm and weighing 1.6 g each. They are incubated by the female for 14 days; the chicks are altricial and naked. Both male and female care for the chicks, which fledge after 13–14 days. After leaving the nest, young sedge warblers continue begging for food from their parents for 1 to 2 weeks after learning to fly.


Prey taken by sedge warblers includes mayflies, dragonflies and damselflies, grasshoppers, bugs, lacewings, moths, beetles and flies. Vegetable material includes elderberries and blackberries. On their wintering grounds food includes non-biting midges and flowers and berries from the toothbrush tree.
In late July, prior to migration, it appears that sedge warblers seek out sites with large numbers of plum-reed aphids and stay there longer than at other places; ringing studies show that birds may move considerable distances (e.g. from southern England to northern France) in search of food before beginning their actual migration. In Portugal, the aphid supply dries up too early for sedge warblers to utilise it, so many birds do not stop off there and are already heavy with fat when they pass through. Birds with the heaviest fat reserves built up before migration are capable of non-stop flights from Africa to southern Britain, or from Uganda to Iraq, for example. Some double their normal weight when 'fuelling' for migration. Lighter birds are forced to make the journey in several shorter parts.
Sedge warblers feed in low, thick vegetation, especially reeds and rushes, but also in arable fields and around bushes. A study at Attenborough, Nottinghamshire in England, found that the habitats used for foraging during the breeding season were 47% marshland, mostly Glyceria grasses, 26% shrub, 21% field vegetation and 6% woodland. Feeding techniques include 'picking' insects from vegetation while perched or sometimes hovering, and 'leap-catching', when the bird grabs flying insects as it flies between perches. Sedge warblers tend to hop between plant stems and pick insects from underneath leaves; they take advantage of the low temperatures around dusk and dawn which make their prey less mobile.


The Eurasian reed warbler, or just reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds across Europe into the temperate western Palaearctic. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa.


The Eurasian reed warbler was formally described in 1804 by the French naturalist Johann Hermann under the binomial name Turdus scirpaceus. The type locality is Alsace. The Eurasian reed warbler is now one of around 40 species placed in the genus Acrocephalus that was introduced by Johann Andreas Naumann and his son Johann Friedrich Naumann in 1811. The genus name Acrocephalus is from Ancient Greek akros, "highest", and kephale, "head". It is possible that the Naumanns thought akros meant "sharp-pointed". The specific scirpaceus is from Latin and means "reed".
Four subspecies are recognised:
A. s. scirpaceus (Hermann, 1804) – breeds in Europe to west Russia, Ukraine and west Turkey, northwest Africa, winters in west, central Africa
A. s. fuscus (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833) – breeds in north Egypt and central Turkey through the Middle East to southeast European Russia, north Iran, Kazakhstan and northwest China; winters in eastern and southern Africa
A. s. avicenniae Ash, Pearson, DJ, Nikolaus & Colston, 1989 – coasts of the Red Sea
A. s. ammon Hering, Winkler & Steinheimer, 2016 – Oases along the Libya-Egypt border region
Some authorities treat the African reed warbler (Acrocephalus baeticatus) as a subspecies of the Eurasian reed warbler.
An older scientific name for the reed warbler was Acrocephalus streperus (Vieill.).


This is a medium-sized warbler, 13 cm (5.1 in) in length with a wing-span of 17–21 cm (6.7–8.3 in). The adult has an unstreaked brown back and buff underparts. The forehead is flattened, and the bill is strong and pointed. The sexes are identical, as with most warblers, but young birds are richer buff below. The Eurasian reed warbler looks similar to the great reed warbler, but the great reed warbler is larger in size and has a stronger supercilium.
The song is a slow, chattering jit-jit-jit with typically acrocephaline whistles and mimicry added.


This small passerine bird is a species found almost exclusively in reed beds, usually with some bushes.


Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will occasionally take plant material such as berries.


The males return to the breeding grounds two or three weeks before the females. The species is usually monogamous. The first eggs are laid at the end of April. The nest is usually placed in vegetation over water, especially in reeds of the genus Phragmites. The deep cylindrical cup nest is sited on average 65 cm (26 in)—range is between 20 and 140 cm (7.9 and 55.1 in)—above the surface of the water and is built entirely by the female. She takes four days to build the initial cup of grass, reed stems and leaves, and another three days to complete the lining of finer material including hair. The clutch contains between three and five eggs that are laid daily. The eggs are very pale green with speckles and blotches of olive green or grey. On average they measure 18.4 mm × 13.6 mm (0.72 in × 0.54 in) and weigh 1.75 g (0.06 oz). They are incubated by both parents, beginning after the penultimate egg is laid. Only the female incubates at night. The eggs hatch after 9–12 days. The nestlings are fed and cared for by both parents. They fledge after 10–12 days but continue to be fed by their parents for another 10–14 days. Up to one third of pairs raise a second brood.
The Eurasian reed warbler is one of the species that are brood parasitised by the common cuckoo.


Cramp, Stanley;  et al., eds. (1992). "Acrocephalus scirpaceus Reed Warbler". Handbook of the Birds of Europe the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. VI: Warblers. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 193–212. ISBN 978-0-19-857509-2.


Acronicta americana, the American dagger moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It was originally described by Thaddeus William Harris in 1841 and is native to North America.


The American dagger moth has a wingspan of 50 to 65 mm (2.0 to 2.6 in) It usually has a sharp, double postmedian line, with white in between the two lines. There is a black dash on the anal area of the forewing. The hindwing is gray with a faint, darker gray median line in the male.
The female is similar, except the hindwing is completely dark.


The American dagger moth is found in North America east of the Rocky Mountains.


The American dagger moth can be seen from April to September throughout its range. Caterpillars can be seen from July to October. It has one brood in the north and two to three broods in the south.


The American dagger moth is found in deciduous woodlands and forests.


The young caterpillar is densely covered with yellow setae. The older caterpillar's setae are either pale yellow or white. All instars have thin, black setae on the first and third abdominal segments. On the eighth abdominal segment, there is one tuft of black setae. The caterpillar will reach a length 50 mm (2.0 in). While there are numerous reports of the larval hairs of this species sometimes causing skin irritation in humans, there is no evidence that they possess any form of venom.


Acronicta fallax, the green marvel, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer in 1854. It is found in most of North America, from Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba south to Arizona and Florida.
The wingspan is about 34 mm. Adults are on wing from February to November in Florida.
The larvae feed on Viburnum species. They feed on the leaf underside. Full-grown larvae are bright lime to yellowish green with a whitish middorsal and somewhat broader subdorsal stripe.


Acronicta impleta, the yellow-haired dagger moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in most of North America.
The wingspan is about 42 mm. Adults are on wing from April to July depending on the location.
The larvae feed on Ulmus, Acer, Betula, Salix and Quercus species.


Acronicta innotata, the unmarked dagger moth or birch dagger, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It is found from Newfoundland to British Columbia and adjacent northern states in the United States, south in the east to North Carolina and Kentucky.
The wingspan is 35–40 mm. Adults are on wing from May to August depending on the location.
The larvae feed on the leaves of alder, birch, cherry, hickory, poplar and willow.


Acronicta insita, the large gray dagger or fingered dagger, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1874. It is found from Newfoundland west to the Pacific coast and Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, south to North Carolina and Colorado.
Acronicta hesperida and Acronicta dactylina were formerly considered to be separate species, but are now considered a synonym.
The wingspan is 45–55 mm. Adults are on wing from May to July in one generation depending on the location.
The larvae feed on alder, birch, poplar, hawthorn and willow.
They have fine hairs that are actually hollow, containing a toxin within.  If direct contact is made through handling or even indirect contact through clothing, shaking a tree branch with a alder dagger caterpillar on it can result in exposure to these fine hairs.  Mild to severe rashes may appear for up to a week and may spread easily to other areas of the body through clothing rubbing on exposed area or scratching. Some people react more seriously while others have no reaction at all.  Applying strong adhesive tape to the area immediately after exposure may help to remove the fine hairs from your skin/clothes.


Acronicta insularis, the cattail caterpillar (when referring to the larva) or Henry's marsh moth (when referring to the adult), is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer in 1868. It is found from coast to coast throughout the United States and southern Canada (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba).
The wingspan is 35–40 mm. Adults are on wing from April to September.
The larvae feed on Typha and Polygonum species, as well as various grasses and sedges, poplar and willow.
Acronicta insularis was formerly called Simyra insularis. In 2015, the genus Simyra, along with Oxicesta and Eogena, were moved to Acronicta based on phylogenetic analysis.
The MONA or Hodges number for Acronicta insularis is 9280.


Acronicta oblinita, the smeared dagger moth or arioch dagger, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by James Edward Smith in 1797.


Acronicta rubricoma, the ruddy dagger moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from southern Ontario and New York to central Florida, west to Texas and east Kansas.
The wingspan is 38–44 mm. Adults are on wing from April to October depending on the location. There are two generations per year.
The larvae feed on elm, hackberry and sumac.