The leafstalks are long, often as long as the leaf itself. The leaves are simple and palmate-shaped on most species, with three or five main veins radiating from the leafstalk. Here, we identify these top five maples and provide general tips for recognizing maple trees in the forest.ĭespite the many different types of maples, these trees have some common features.įor example, maples have mostly grey-colored bark, and the deciduous leaves are often always arranged on stems opposite each other. That's because the seven less common species are found regionally, whereas the five most common ones are more widespread. However, five of those maple species are vastly more common to spot on your nature walk. There are approximately 125 species worldwide and 12 maples native to North America. The word Acer is derived from a Latin word meaning "sharp," and the name refers to the characteristic points on the leaf lobes. 2004.Maple trees are classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae.
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Plant Guide: Sugar Maple, USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center & the Biota of North America Program. Forest Trees of the Northeast, edited by Lassoie, Luzadis, and Grover. Textbook of Dendrology. McGraw-Hill Inc., N.Y. The Complete Trees of North America Field Guide and Natural History. United States Department of Agriculture.Įlias, T.S. Trees of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. Songbirds, woodpeckers, and cavity nesters use the sugar maple as a home.īrockman, C.F. White-tailed deer, moose, porcupine, squirrels and snowshoe hare commonly eat the bark, twigs, or fruit of the sugar maple. Sugar maple is of high ecological importance, providing food and shelter for a wide variety of organisms. Sugar maple constitutes about 6% of the hardwood saw timber value in the US, with rising production of saw timber and firewood. The wood is valued for being hard, heavy and strong common uses include furniture, flooring, and veneer as well as tool handles, musical instruments, and baseball bats. Native Americans also used the sap as a fresh or fermented beverage or soured as vinegar when cooking meat. Along with honey, sugar maple was the main source of sweetener for Native Americans and early European settlers. The watery sap is boiled or evaporated into a thick syrup or undergoes further evaporation to produce maple sugar, a common candy. An individual tree can produce 5-60 liters of sap per day, which may sound like a lot, but 35-45 liters of sap are required to make 1 liter of syrup.
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Trees are tapped in early spring when the sap begins to flow and sugar content is highest. It is the favorable tree for syrup production as the sap contains twice the sugar concentration of any other maple species (~2.5% sugar). It is the state tree of New York and is featured on the Canadian flag, evidence of its value to the Northern territories. Sugar maple has huge historical and economic importance for its use in the maple sugar and timber industries. The range of sugar maple extends from Nova Scotia and Quebec at its northern edge, west to Ontario, southeastern Manitoba, and western Minnesota, south to southern Missouri, and east to Tennessee and northern Georgia. It does best on moist, well-drained soils and poorly on dry, shallow, or swampy soils.
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Sugar maple is a shade tolerant tree common in many northern hardwood and mixed forests. It is one of the largest and most important hardwood species in North America, typically reaching 70-90 feet in height with a dense, spreading crown. Sugar maple ( Acer saccharum) is a deciduous tree also referred to as hard maple or rock maple. Leaves – simple, deciduous, usually 5-lobed, and with entire margins.īuds – imbricated, brown, and sharply pointed.įruit – ¾-1″ U-shaped samaras that mature in the fall.īark – variable, gray (often with a brown tinge), and furrowed-scaly when older.