Acer floridanum is a deciduous tree in the soapberry family (Sapindaceae) native to North Carolina and much of the southeastern United States west to Texas, found in the rich bottomland of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains. It is closely related to Sugar Maple but adapted to the warmer, more humid conditions of the South, providing reliable autumn colour — yellow, orange, and occasionally red — in zones 6 to 9 where the northern species would struggle with summer heat.

Growing 20 to 60 feet depending on soil depth and moisture, it develops a rounded crown that provides good summer shade. Bees visit the spring flowers. Deer leave it alone. For gardeners in the Southeast who have tried Sugar Maple and found it disappointing, Southern Sugar Maple is the considered alternative — a tree with the same seasonal promise, properly calibrated for the climate it actually lives in.