MASSACHUSETTS FOREST TREES 



SUGAR MAPLE (Rock Maple) (Acer saccharum 

 Marsh.) 



THE Sugar Maple may be found abundantly through- 

 out the State, although its occurrence is much less 

 frequent toward the seacoast. Wherever it may grow, 

 it is much at home in cool, rich woods and on moist, 

 rocky slopes. Normally, it is a tree growing from fifty 

 to sixty feet high, yet it often reaches a height of at 

 least one hundred feet. In the open the branches 

 develop at a distance of eight or ten feet above 

 the ground and make an acute angle with the 

 trunk, thus forming, at least when the tree 

 is young, an 

 egg-shaped 

 head. Later 

 in life the tree 

 may assume a 

 roundish form. 

 The bark on 

 the old trunk 

 is gray and 

 roughe ne d 

 with long ver- 

 tical scales 

 which project 

 irregularly at 

 the edges. The 



young twigs SUGAR 



are reddish-brown in color and lustrous. 



rm i / Winter twig 



The leaves are simple, opposite, from three and buds. 

 to five inches in length and have three to five One - ha j f 



natural size* 



lobes. The upper surface of the leaf is dark 

 green, and the under- surf ace is pale green. In the 

 autumn the foliage takes on brilliant shades of red, 

 scarlet and orange. The flowers, which are greenish- 

 yellow in color, are borne on long, thread-like flower 

 stalks and appear about the middle of April. 



The wood is heavy, hard, durable, close-grained and 

 capable of taking and retaining a good polish. It is 

 used largely in the interior finish of buildings, in the 

 making of furniture and in shipbuilding. 



57 



SUGAR MAPLE 



Leaf and fruit. One-third natural size. 



