The leaves of the red maple offer the easiest way to distinguish it from its relatives. As with all North American maple trees, they are deciduous and arranged oppositely on the twig. They are typically long and wide with 3-5 palmate lobes with a serrated margin. The sinuses are typically narrow, but the leaves can exhibit considerable variation. When five lobes are present, the three at the terminal end are larger than the other two near the base. In contrast, the leaves of the related silver maple, "A. saccharinum", are much more deeply lobed, more sharply toothed and characteristically have 5 lobes. The upper side of "A. rubrum"'s leaf is light green and the underside is whitish and can be either glaucous or hairy. The leaf stalks are usually red and are up to long. The leaves can turn a characteristic brilliant red in autumn, but can also become yellow or orange on some individuals. Soil acidity can influence the color of the foliage and trees with female flowers are more likely to produce orange coloration while male trees produce red. The fall colors of red maple are most spectacular in the northern part of its range where climates are cooler.