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GENERAL BOTANY 



ACERACEAE (MAPLE FAMILY) 

 THE SUGAR MAPLE (ACER SACCHARUM) 



The maple family includes about seventy species, among which 

 are the common soft, or silver, maple, the ash-leaved maples, 

 or box elders, and the various kinds of hard maples, of which 



the sugar maple 

 ( Acer saccharum) 

 has been chosen 

 for the following 

 sketch. 



Habitat. Rock, 

 or sugar, maples 

 generally flourish 

 best in a fertile, 

 loamy soil, but 

 can adapt them- 

 selves to other 

 kinds of soils if 

 they have a me- 

 dium amount of 

 moisture. This 

 tree is distinctive 

 hi habit because 

 of its symmetri- 

 cal, broad, round 

 top, so character- 

 istic of old trees. 



Male flowers Female flowers ^ j^ Qn Qlder 



FIG. 242. Flowers, fruits, and seeds of the sugar maple 

 (Acer saccharum) 



Leaf. 



Leaves, buds, and fruits 



Terminal twig 



Female flowers 



Inflorescence fascicle 



Samara, or 

 key'fruil 



trees is deeply 

 furrowed and is 



divided into broad plates or large flakes. The leaves are broad, 



thin, and deep green, with the margin divided into five points, 



or lobes (Fig. 242). 



Reproduction. The flowers in the sugar maple are borne in 



corymblike clusters with long, hairlike pedicels. Some of the 



