SUGAR MAPLE

( (Acer saccharum), ) also called Hard Maple, or Rock Maple, large tree in the maple family (Aceraceae), native to eastern North America and widely grown as an ornamental and shade tree. It is a commercially important source of maple syrup (q.v.), maple sugar, and hardwood lumber useful in furniture manufacture and flooring. Some trees develop special grain patterns such as bird's-eye maple (with dots suggesting eyes of birds) and curly and fiddleback maple, with wavy and rippled grain, respectively. The sugar maple may grow to a height of 40 m (130 feet). It has a dense crown of leaves, which turn various shades of gold to scarlet in fall. Its three- to five-lobed leaves appear after the greenish yellow flowers of spring. The fruits are paired samaras, or keys. Smooth grayish bark on the trunk and branches gradually furrows with age. The leaf of the sugar maple is the national emblem of Canada. Several varieties of sugar maples are available; their leaf crowns may be columnar, oval, or pyramidal in shape, with dark green to yellowish leaves. Among those considered subspecies are Rocky mountain sugar maple (A. saccharum grandidentatum), chalk maple (A. saccharum leucoderme), and black maple (A. saccharum nigrum).