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Red maple is one of the most abundant and wide-ranging tree species in North America, and has the unusual capacity to regenerate both early and late in forest succession. It thrives in the face of human disturbance and climate change, but no single physiological trait explains its success. To untangle this paradox, I examined red maple regeneration over 24 years of forest succession in a chronosequence of shelterwood harvests. I compared the morphology, physiology, and plasticity of red maple’s two distinct regeneration strategies: vegetative sprouts and seed-origin trees. Sprout-origin trees grew quickly, used water inefficiently, and had high plasticity in leaf morphology, while seed-origin trees grew slowly, used water more efficiently, and exhibited much less morphological plasticity. These complementary strategies may allow red maple to regenerate both early and late in forest succession. Red maple’s unique regeneration may explain the red maple paradox and help predict future forest compositions following disturbance.