Its colors
pale yellow
When it turns here
first color about Sep 23, 2026, at its best Oct 2, 2026, fading by Oct 5, 2026, bare by Oct 12, 2026 (estimate).
this year, by the model, the forest here peaks about Oct 7, 2026.
Model of Oct 27, 2026.
How long it holds
the sources give no figure for how long it holds its color.
Where it grows thickest
The cool northern hardwood forests of the mountains; in Vermont it is among the most numerous saplings.
the understory of cool woods
its range outline comes to this page
By height
Best between about 550 and 800 m (1,800 to 2,600 ft) in the New England mountains, gone above about 830 to 860 m in the White Mountains.
From the road
A small tree of the understory with green bark striped in white and large three-lobed leaves like a goose's foot, a pale yellow layer under the maples on mountain roads.
Its pictures this autumn
Where to see it
pictures of it this autumn from …
- Burlington, the Islands & Lake Champlain, VT · 1 picture, newest Oct 12, 2026
- Camden, Rockland & the Midcoast, ME · 1 picture, newest Oct 3, 2026
- Hartford, the Farmington Valley & the central river, CT · 1 picture, newest Oct 20, 2026
- The Bruce Peninsula & Owen Sound, ON · 1 picture, newest Oct 3, 2026
- The Smokies & Cherokee, NC · 1 picture, newest Oct 23, 2026
The sources’ own words
But the little striped maple becomes almost colorless.
A small shade-tolerant tree often found in the understory of cool forests, with distinctive long white stripes on its green bark. Its large opposite and shallowly-lobed toothed leaves turn yellow in mid-October.
In the mountainous areas of New England, it develops best at elevations between 550 and 800 m (1,800 and 2,600 ft)
It dropped out completely between elevations of 830 and 860 m (2,720 and 2,820 ft).
American beech (Fagus grandifolia) is the most numerous sapling followed by balsam fir, sugar maple, striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum), red maple (Acer rubrum), and red spruce (Picea rubens).
When young, smooth gray-green with prominent white lengthwise stripes, older bark becomes reddish brown.