320 



THE MAPLE EAMILY. 



THE MAPLE FAHILY. 



A erliecE. 

 Large trees or shnibs^ivith watery or sugary sap; simple or phmate^ 

 opposite^ long petioled leaves^mostly palmately lobed, and ivhich produce 



regular^ dioecious^ 

 terminal clusters, 

 united at the base. 



or polygajnous jlowers growing ift axillary, and 

 Fruit: of two-winged samaras, each one seeded and 



Acer leiicoderme. {Plate CII^ 



FAMILY 

 Maple. 



SHAPE 

 Round-headed. 



HEIGHT 



20-40 _/t'(?/. 



TIME OF BLOOM 



March, ApriL 



Bark : very light coloured. T7vigs : grey 



Silver Maple. 



RANGE 



North Carolina and 

 Georgia soiithwestivard . 



or reddish brown. Leaves : small, 

 one and one half to two and one 

 half inches broad, with long, 

 slender petioles ; broadly rounded 

 with cordate bases and mostly 

 five-lobed, their apices pointed 

 and lobed, or entire. Bright 

 green and glabrous above, pubes- 

 cent underneath and tufted in the 

 angles of the ribs. Samaras : 

 small ; three quarters to an inch 

 long with widely divergent wings. 



Among the native maples this 

 one is rather a curiosity, and 

 cannot but be of interest to 

 those concerned in regarding 

 the genus. The specimen from 

 which the accompanying illus- 

 tration was drawn came from 

 the Yellow River valley of 

 Georgia. 



Even as early as February 

 blossoms may be seen beginning 

 to burst forth on some of the 

 precocious species of maples. 

 And many of them are ex- 

 quisite. It seems strange there- 

 fore that comparatively so few 

 people should be conscious oi 

 their existence. Generally their 



seeds ripen in the autumn, then fiy by means of their membranous wings 

 and frisk about until they find some niche or hole to rest in and finally ger- 



