What it looks like: This varietal has typical maple-shaped leaves with silvery, deeply-grooved bark
Introduced from Europe in the 1750s, this maple was overplanted as a shade tree because it grows so quickly. However, it produces a large number of winged seeds, so it spreads rapidly and is considered invasive in some areas, outcompeting native trees such as sugar maples. Despite that fact, you’ll still occasionally see it sold at nurseries—buyer, beware!
Removal: In the first place, don’t plant this if you’re shopping for a shade tree. If that news is coming too late to heed, know that seedlings can be pulled by hand, but large trees must be removed by professionals.