‘ 
ACERACEAE 
Silver Maple. Soft Maple 
Acer saccharinum L, [Acer dasycarpum Ehrh.] 
HABIT.—A beautiful tree, growing to a height of 60-80 feet, 
with a trunk diameter of 2-4 feet, usually separating near the 
ground into 3-4 upright stems which are destitute of branches 
for a considerable distance. Usually the long, slender branches 
bend downwards, but with their tips ascending in a graceful 
curve. Crown broad, especially in its upper portion. 
LEAVES.—Opposite, simple, 3-6 inches long and nearly as 
broad; usually 5-lobed by narrow, acute sinuses which extend 
nearly to the midrib, the lobes often sublobed, sharply toothed; 
light green above, silvery white beneath, turning pale yellow in 
autumn; petioles long, slender, drooping. 
FLOWERS.—March-April, before the leaves; polygamo- 
monoecious or dioecious; small, yellow-green, in crowded, sessile 
umbels; calyx 5-lobed (sometimes each lobe again divided) ; 
corolla 0; stamens 3-7; ovary hairy. 
FRUIT.—May, germinating as soon as it reaches the ground; 
paired samaras, large, glabrous, curving inwards, one samara 
often aborted. . 
WINTER-BUDS.—Dark red, blunt; the terminal about %4 
inch long, with bud-scales often apiculate at the apex; flower- 
buds clustered on side spurs. ; 
BARK.—Twigs smooth, red-gray, lustrous; young trunks 
gray, smooth; old trunks dark gray, more or less furrowed, 
separating into thin, loose scales. 
WOOD.—Hard, strong, close-grained, rather brittle, perish- 
able, pale brown, with thick, lighter colored sapwood. 
DISTRIBUTION.—Lower Peninsula south of Saginaw Bay. 
HABITAT.—Prefers low, rich bottom-lands, subject to 
occasional inundation, but not in swamps. 
NOTES.—A rapid grower, adapting itself to a variety of 
soils. Does not do well on dry, elevated ground. The first tree 
to blossom in early spring. 
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