Shrub or small tree with short trunk and slender, upright branches, hairless throughout. Height: 30 ft (9 m). Diameter: 1 ft (0.3 m). Flowers 0.3 in (0.8 cm) wide; greenish-yellow.
Moist soils, especially along canyons and mountain slopes in coniferous forests.
Southeastern Alaska, British Columbia, and southwestern Alberta, south mostly in mountains to southern New Mexico and southern California; to 5,000-9,000 ft (1,524-2,743 m) in south.
The northernmost maple in the New World, it extends through southeastern Alaska. Deer, elk, cattle, and sheep browse the foliage. The Latin species name, meaning "hairless," refers to the leaves.
