The name red spruce derives from the generally reddish brown appearance of the forest in its natural range, where in the eyes of local foresters it is distinguishable from the darker black (P. mariana) and lighter white (P. glauca) spruces. All three species grow in the same area of eastern North America. The range of the red spruce is the most Atlantic of the three. At its southern limit it grows as a mountain species on the upper slopes of the Appalachians.
Silver maple is the fastest-growing of the North American maples and in its native habitat can grow a metre a year in suitable places. It develops into a large broad-crowned tree with beautiful palmate leaves which flutter in wind to show their silvery reverse. Autumn colour is usually yellow.
Norway maple grows mainly in central and eastern Europe, its range extending to the Crimea and Caucasus Mountains but not the British Isles. In Finland it is considered native, arriving after the last Ice Age. On the Finnish map there are numerous place names indicating where maples have grown of old. The northern limit of the species is the line Pori–Tampere–Kuopio–Joensuu; south of this it is the most commonly used deciduous hardwood in both gardens and parks.