Silver maples were commonly planted street trees in Montréal some years ago, and very large trees can be seen popping up the sidewalk with their large roots in older residential neighbourhoods. In the wild, silver maple is found on moist low-lying spots, often next to water. It tolerates being flooded in the spring, and on the shores of the Lake of Two Mountains it provides nesting sites to colonies of blue herons. In these places, it often hybridizes with red maple, the two trees blooming in the early spring before the leaves come out, and so intermediate plants are often found. The Freeman maple, which is the given name for this hybrid cross, is also a popular street tree, and can be found planted in Montréal as well. Silver maple has silvery-green undersides to its leaves, turning yellow in the fall. The Freeman maple has bright red or orange foliage and grows quickly, as does silver maple.