A map of the native range of the striped maple. (National Plant Data Team, 2014).

The striped maple is native to North America and has a wide geographic range, reaching from northern Quebec down to Georgia and spreading from the Eastern Seaboard as far west as Minnesota. The dominant forest type in these regions and the environment where the striped maple is most commonly found is a temperate deciduous forest. Here, it often grows alongside birches and another common understory plant, the mountain maple, or Acer spicatum.

The ideal growing conditions for a striped maple are on the northern slope of a valley. The tree prefers cool, moist, well-drained, and slightly acidic soil and, as it is an understory tree, is usually found in shade or part shade. The tree can tolerate moist soil, so it is sometimes found growing in wetlands, although that environment is not its typical site. Thus it is termed a “nonhydrophyte” because it does not (“non”) love (“phyte”) wet (“hydro”) growing conditions.