The Trees of Vermont 75 



Sinuses deep, lower surfaces of leaves smooth or with few hairs on 



veins Sugar Maple 



Sinuses shallow, lower surfaces of leaves minutely hairy Black Maple 



Small trees or shrubs. 



Leaves large (often 6-8 inches long), margins finely toothed, bark light 



I green striped with darker lines Striped Maple 

 Leaves smaller (3-5 inches long) margins coarsely toothed, bark not 

 striped Mountain Maple 



Introduced species. — The Norway maple ig a European species frequently 

 used as a street shade tree farther south, and occasionally planted in Ver- 

 mont. It most closely resembles the sugar maple among our native species 

 but is easily distinguished by its broader and lower crown, larger leaves and 

 larger, moi-e divergent key-fruits. 



Numerous horticultural varieties of the silver maple have been introdu- 

 ced in recent years, especially from Japan. Those include very deeply cut- 

 leaved forms, and also one with drooping branches. Their relationship to 

 tlie native species is usually recognizable however. 



The horse chestnuts and buckeyes are closely related to the maples, al- 

 though some authorities place them in a separate family. Of these the 

 European horse chestnut {Aescidus Hippocastanum) is very commonly culti- 

 vated. It forms a large, clean, symmetrical tree, with rich foliage and 

 showy blossoms. The buckeyes of the south and west are occasionally 

 planted. 



MOUNTAIN MAPLE. Acer spicafnm. Lam. 



The mountain maple rarely be- 

 comes more than a shrub in Ver- 

 mont. It occurs commonly in 

 moist, rocky mountain forests in 

 all parts of the state. Like the 

 striped maple it is partial to road- 

 sides, and borders all our mountain 

 driveways. The leaves are thin 

 and downy on the under side. The 

 greenish yellow flowers are borne 

 in erect pubescent clusters which 

 appear in the latter part of June. 

 The fruits are very divergent, 

 smaller than those of any other 

 maple and become bright red in 

 July and August. The heavy clusters then hang down and turn dark 

 brown before being scattered by the winds. It is the spike-like arrange- 

 ment of these flowers which suggested the Latin name of the species. This 



MOUNTAIN MAPLE 

 Leaves and fruit, X y^. 



