402 TREES IN WINTER 



SUGAR MAPLE 

 Rock Maple, Hard Maple. 



Acer saccharum Marsh. 

 A. saccliarinutn Wang., not L. ; A. harbatum, Michx. 



HABIT — A large tree 50-90 ft. in height, with trunk diameter of 2-5 

 ft.; trunk more or less continuous, in the open developing at 8-10 ft. 

 from the ground stout, erect branches which form in young trees a 

 broad or narrow egg-shaped head, becoming frequently a broad, round- 

 topped head when older. Leaves sometimes persistent into winter 

 especially on lower branches of young trees. 



BARK — On young trunks and limbs dark gray, with tinge of buff, 

 close and firm, smooth or slightly fissured, becoming deeply furrowed 

 into long, thick, irregular plates which often curve back along one 

 edge, giving ploughed appearance to the trunk. Some trees are to be 

 found with yellowish-gray, more or less flaky bark. (See upper bark 

 picture.) 



TWIGS — Slender, shining, reddish-brown to buff tinged with orange, 

 smooth, LENTICELS — numerous, pale, conspicuous. PITH — whitish. 



LiEAF-SCARS — Opposite, narrow V-shaped; outer margins of a pair 

 nearly meeting; often pale downiness within leaf-scar, BUNDLE- 

 SCARS — 3, sometimes compound. 



BUDS — Conical to ovate, sharp-pointed, reddish-brown, rather downy 

 especially toward tip; terminal bud 4-6 mm. long; about twice as long 

 as appressed lateral buds, BUD-SCALES — overlapping, 4-8 pairs visible, 

 their margins finely hairy, 



FRUIT — 3-5 cm. long, in short terminal clusters, wings broad, paral- 

 lel or slightly spreading. 



COMPARISONS — The Sugar Maple is readily distinguished from other 

 Maples by its narrow, conical, sharp-pointed, brown buds and by the 

 large number of scales to the bud. The fruit clusters of the Sugar 

 Maple are from terminal buds, those of the Red and the Silver Maple 

 are from lateral buds. The fruiting of the Sugar Maple in consequence 

 causes a noticeable forking of the twigs while it does not interrupt 

 the growth in the Red and the Silver Maple. Further, fruit stalks 

 and sometimes even the fruits themselves are persistent into winter 

 on the Sugar Maple and are not persistent on the Red and the Silver. 

 The Black Maple [Acer saccharum, var. nigrum (Michx. f.) Britton] is 

 found in the northern part of New England but is too closely related 

 to the Sugar Maple to be considered a distinct species. It has darker 

 buds and bark than the type form, 



DISTRIBUTION — Rich woods and rocky slopes, frequently planted by 

 roadsides. Nova Scotia and Newfoundland; westward to Lake of the 

 Woods; south to the Gulf States; west to Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas 

 and Texas. 



IN NEW ENGLAND — Abundant, distributed throughout the woods, 

 often forming in the northern portions extensive upland forests; attain- 

 ing great size in the mountainous portions of New Hampshire and 

 Vermont, and in the Connecticut river valley; less frequent toward the 

 seacoast. 



WOOD — Heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, tough, with a fine satiny 

 surface, susceptible of receiving a good polish, light brown tinged with 

 red, with thin sapwood of 30-40 layers of annual growth; largely used 

 for the interior finish of buildings, especially for floors, in the manu- 

 facture of furniture and in turnery, in shipbuilding, shoe-lasts and pegs 

 and largely as fuel. Accidental forms with the grain curled and 

 contorted, known as Curly Maple and Bird's Eye Maple are common 

 and highly prized in cabinet making. Maple sugar is principally made 

 from the sap* of this tree. 



