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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



FLOWER AND FRUIT OF THE SILVER MAPLE 



The flowers of the Silver Maple occur in clusters along the twigs and ap- 

 pear before the leaves. Its maple-key fruit is the largest of our native maples 

 and the leaves are silvery white on the lower surface, with deep and round- 

 based leaf-clefts. 



A DISTINC- 

 TIVE TWIG 

 The twig and 

 buds of the 

 Sugar Maple 

 are unmistak- 

 able. 



Stalks. In summer 

 there is often a tinge 

 of red along the 

 veins of the leaves, 

 and in autumn this 

 superb tree is at its 

 best. Just as the 

 leaves of many of our trees are beginning to 

 fall, one may look across a meadow and see a 

 gorgeous Red Maple completely clothed in 

 scarlet, or one may find a solitary specimen on 

 a hillside standing out as a flaming torch 

 among its green associates. It is not only in 

 summer and autumn that the Red Maple is 

 true to its common name and recognized with- 

 out much effort, for at other seasons of the 

 year it also stands out with an individuality 

 for its stem is gray and stately, and its 

 branches clean and smooth, and its twigs 

 dotted with white lenticles and knotted clus- 

 ters of distinctly red buds. 



Its scientific name is Acer rubrum. This 

 name is quite appropriate, for the word "ru- 

 brum" means red. Sometimes this tree is called 

 Scarlet Maple because of the scarlet autumnal 

 color of its leaves. Other common names are : 

 Soft Maple, Swamp Maple and White Maple. 



If there is one maple that excels all others 

 in beauty in the forest it must be the Red 

 Maple. One usually finds it in wet places. It 

 is commonest in swamps and along river 

 banks, but also thrives in moist soil on moun- 

 tain slopes. It thrives well when planted along 

 village streets and in parks, but it is short- 

 lived and needs plenty of moisture. These 

 characteristics and requirements suggest that 

 great care should be taken in the selection of 



planting sites for this 

 tree. 



The Ash - leaved 

 Maple, also known as 

 Box Elder, differs 

 from all other Maples 

 in that it has com- 

 pound leaves with 

 three to five leaflets, 

 instead of simple 

 leaves. It also bears 

 the pollen - bearing 

 and seed - producing 

 flowers on separate 

 trees, while the other 

 Maples usually have 

 both kinds of flow- 

 ers on the same tree. 

 These striking differ- 

 ences were formerly 

 regarded important 

 enough to place this 

 tree in a distinct 

 group by itself, but 

 now it is again 

 grouped with the 

 other simple - leaved 

 Maples. 



SUGAR MAPLE FLOWER, FRUIT AND LEAVES 



The flowers of the Sugar Maple appear with the leaves and occur in clus- 

 ters on long, slender stalks. The leaves are large and coarsely toothed. 



