Trees of New York State 297 



ACERACEAE 



Acer saccli.'irinum L. [Acer dasycurpum Elirh.] 



Silver Maple, White Maple 



Habit — A lariTf tico (iO-SO feet in lieiglit with a trunk diameter of 2-4 feet, 

 under favorable conditions sometimes 120 feet tall. Bole usually short, 

 dividing: 10-15 feet above the ground into several stout, ascending limbs 

 ■which ultimately bear brittle, pendulous branches and form a broad- 

 topped, rounded crown. 



Ijeaves — Opposite, nearly orbicular, i)-7 inches across, cordate or truncate 

 at the base, palmately 5-nerved and deeply 5-lobed, the lateral lobes acu- 

 minate, coarsely and irregularly dentate and separated by acute sinuses, 

 the terminal lobe usually with three divergent secondary lobes. At 

 maturity the leaves are thin, pale green and glabrous above, silvery- 

 glaucous beneath, borne on slender, droojiing, red petioles 4-5 inches long. 



Flowers — .\ppearing during the first warm days of March and April before 

 the leaves in dense, sessile, axillary clusters on the growth of the pre- 

 ceding season, greenish yellow, jjolygamous, the staminate and pistillate 

 in separate clusters on the same or on different trees. Calyx tubul.-ir in 

 the staminate flower, uni-sha.i)ed in the pistillate flower, shallowly 

 5-lobed, usually pubescent without. Corolla lacking. Stamens 3-7, long 

 exserted in the staminate flower, with slender filaments ;ind red anthers. 

 Pistil consisting of a short, compressed, pubescent, 2-lobed ovary sur- 

 mounted by 2 widely divergent styles with stigmatic tips. 



Fruit — A glabrous, double samara consisting of 2 pale, reddish brown and 

 wTinkled, laterally compressed, 1 -seeded carpels about ^A of an inch long 

 bearing from the back straight or somewhat falcate, widely divergent 

 wings 1-2 inches long, borne on slender, drooping stalks. The samaras 

 mature in April and May and the seeds germinate as soon as they fall to 

 the ground. 



Winter characters — Twigs rather slender, lustrous, conspicuously lenticel- 

 late. light chestnut-brown becoming paler the second season. When 

 freshly cut or broken, the twigs exhale a rank odor. Terminal bud ovate- 

 oval, obtuse, red, about Vs of an inch long, covered with 3-4 pairs of 

 visible scales which are rounded and ciliate on the margin. Lateral leaf- 

 buds similar, short-stalked, usually accompanied by globose flower-buds 

 on either side which are larger and more conspicuous than the true axil- 

 lary bud. Mature bark thin, reddish brown, separating at the surface 

 into elongated, loose, longitudinal plates giving the tree a shaggy appear- 

 ance, that of young trunks and branches smooth and light gray. 



Habitat — Typically a bottom-land species preferring moist situations along 

 sluggish streams and the borders of swamps where the soil is often inun- 

 dated for a })art of each year. Propagated for shade and ornament in 

 drier soils. 



Range — ■ Xew Brunswick westward through southern Ontario to eastern 

 South Dakota and Nebraska, south to Florida and Oklahoma. Zones 

 B and C. 



Uses — The chief value of the species lies in its use as an ornamental and 

 shade tree, a number of horticultural varieties being recognized. This 

 tree should not be planted in exposed situations as the branches are brittle 

 and subject to storm injury. Wood medium hard heavy, strong, brittle, 

 close-grained, pale brown with thick, paler sapw'ood. Used for cheap 

 furniture and occasionallv for flooringr. 



