Rich deciduous forests, conifer-hardwoods, sandy forested bluffs, occasionally in cedar swamps, but apparently absent from the westernmost Upper Peninsula. It thrives especially close to the Great Lakes and is less common inland.

A tall shrub or small tree, this species has a trunk rarely over 20 cm in diameter, although trees as large as 35 cm occur in the Huron Mountains. The bark of all but very old trunks is a beautiful smooth green, striped with pale green or almost white lines. The distinctive leaf blades have three acuminate tips and are otherwise sharply and finely doubly serrate, often as wide as 15 cm or more; they turn a bright clear yellow in the fall.

"Striped maples" form a distinctive group that is entfirely Asian except for our Acer pensylvanicum. Several of the Asian species are cultivated for their bark, and reports of striped maples in southern Michigan parks and urban areas are based on planted individuals of the Asian species,