It is rightly said that November is the most suitable month for Bigtooth Maples for Boerne. November is the month in which the bigtooth Maples show off their brilliant, bright and stunning fall colors. November is also the month in which the alluring Bigtooth Maples is awarded to various citizens, businesses, organizations and schools in Boerne. Bigtooth maples are sponsored for the Boerne Project by the Lende foundation, the Boerne Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas.

This is a ten year program to promote the growth of bigtooth Maples in Boerne, to make it a place of attractive fall colors. Many local people tend to think that wild Bigtooth Maples only grow in the in the Lost Maples State Natural Area along the Sabinal River north of Vanderpool. But in reality Bigtooth Maples also grow in other parts of the Edward Plateau, mostly in the canyons of Bandera, Real Uvalde and Kendall Counties.

Wild Bigtooth Maples are also growing widely in Boerne city limits. The trees are found along Cibolo Creek and its tributaries just upstream of Boerne. Few trees also grow in the Cibolo Creek, southeast of Boerne. According to the fossil pollen and seed study, the Bigtooth Maples which are relatives of Sugar Maples, largely grew on Edwards Plateau during the last 20,000 thousand years when the climate was cooler and wetter.

As the climate of this area became drier and warmer the abundance of Bigtooth maples gradually decreased. Today the Bigtooth Maples in the Hill Country are mostly confined to damp limestone canyons with spring-fed streams. The name “bigtooth” comes from the species name ‘grandidentatum’ meaning the large teeth or lobes of the leaf margin.

The two to five inch broad leaves of this tree has three to five lobes. In the fall period the leaves turn brilliant red, bright yellow or orange depending on the genetic makeup of the individual tree. Different trees in the same region may have different colored leaves. It is often very difficult to envision which saplings will grow into trees of certain colored fall foliage. Most bigtooth Maples give some nice fall colors whether yellow, gold or red.

The bigtooth Maples can also be found at several high elevation localities in Trans-Pecos Texas, northern Mexico and at few places in northern central Texas in Bell and Coryell Counties. Theses lovely Bigtooth maples can also be found in the Rocky Mountains. In the Hill County there are only mature Bigtooth Maples, only very few saplings survive in this area to replace the old trees.

Tags: bigtooth maples for boerne, fall colors of maples, lost maples state natural area