Acer saccharum, Sugar maple
November 2009
What a great time of year! Fall stimulates the senses with its crunchy leaves, spectacular colors and cool crisp days. And what says fall more than the Sugar maple? Awash in reds and yellows, it resembles fall fireworks.
The Sugar maple, or known by its botanical name, Acer saccharum, is native to the eastern deciduous forest. The decline of the American elm earlier in the century did wonders for the Sugar maple population. As elms died off, gaps were created in the forest canopy, allowing the seeds, or samaras, to germinate. In a forest situation Acer saccharum can live an amazing 400 years. Sugar maples were some of the first trees planted in the landscape at Haverford College when English gardener William Carvill was hired in 1834 to lay out a campus on the former farm fields.
Most people know that maple syrup comes from this tree; it was a major food source for the Native Americans. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of maple syrup. Squirrels also love the sweetness of the sap.
The wood also was prized by early settlers. Musical instruments, gunstocks and knife handles were made of this durable wood. During the 1970s, Japan went through a bowling alley boom and the wood was used for lanes and pins.
Sugar maples are not tough trees. They don’t like pollution or urban conditions; they are happiest in the middle of a forest with deep acid rich soils. This doesn’t mean you can’t plant a Sugar maple, just take into consideration where they are happiest. A large garden or park-like setting is best, and the more sun you give them the more spectacular the fall color. They are also not tolerant of salt or compaction. Sugar maples can grow to 120 feet, but typically in our neighborhoods 50 to 60 feet is the norm.