American Chestnut vs Big-Leaf Maple

Castanea dentata compared with Acer macrophyllum

Key Differences

• American Chestnut is Critically Endangered while Big-Leaf Maple is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Chestnut	Big-Leaf Maple
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Fagales (Beeches & Oaks)	Sapindales (Sapindales)
Family	Fagaceae (Beech Family)	Sapindaceae
Genus	Castanea	Acer
Species	Castanea dentata	Acer macrophyllum

Evolutionary Relationship

American Chestnut and Big-Leaf Maple share a common ancestor at the Class level: Magnoliopsida. (Dicots)

Conservation Status

American Chestnut

CR — Critically Endangered

Big-Leaf Maple

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Chestnut	Big-Leaf Maple
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

American Chestnut

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, montane grasslands and shrublands, and Mediterranean forests and woodlands, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Canada, Norway, South Africa, and United States. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Big-Leaf Maple

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Canada, Ireland, and United States.

American Chestnut

The American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) is a species in the genus Castanea. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, montane grasslands and shrublands, and Mediterranean forests and woodlands, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic rea.

Big-Leaf Maple

The Big-Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) is a species in the genus Acer. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇨🇦 Canada 🇺🇸 United States