Acer Group Acer Group Acer rubrum L - USDA Acer rubrum L. Red Maple. Aceraceae -- Maple family. Russell S. Walters and Harry W. Yawney. Red maple (Acer rubrum) is also known as scarlet maple, swamp maple, soft maple, Carolina red maple, Drummond red maple, and water maple (33) foresters consider the tree inferior and undesirable because it is often poorly formed and defective, especially on Quercus muehlenbergii Engelm - USDA Quercus muehlenbergii Engelm. Chinkapin Oak. Fagaceae -- Beech family. Ivan L. Sander. Chinkapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii), sometimes called yellow chestnut oak, rock oak, or yellow oak, grows in alkaline soils on limestone outcrops and well-drained slopes of the uplands, usually with other hardwoods seldom grows in size or abundance to be commercially