ACER SACCHARUM - Sugar Maple
The Sugar Maple tree is a deciduous shade tree that is found in Eastern North America.
[Elementary School students]
Did you know?
What is the sap of the tree used for?
* Sugar Maple is used to produce maple syrup. The sap collected from the trees in late winter is boiled to produce a thick syrup.
http://www.uky.edu/hort/Sugar-Maple
How much syrup can one tree produce?
* Each tree yields between 5 and 60 gallons of sap per year; about 32 gallons of sap make 1 gallon of syrup or 4 1/2 pounds of sugar.
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ACSA3
Who taught the colonists to use the sap from Sugar Maple trees?
* Maple sugar was the only sweetener used by Native Americans of the Northeast, and they used it to make a sauce for many of their foods. When colonists settled in the Northeast, Native Americans bartered with their "bark sugar," which has maple sugar stored in bark boxes.
http://www.uky.edu/hort/Sugar-Maple
What country uses the leaf of the Sugar Maple tree as its national symbol?
* The sugar maple leaf is the national symbol of Canada http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=d363
Leaf:
[Middle School students]
Habitat (where it likes to live)
* Well drained soils in full sun
* Location: Eastern and central North America (Zone 3 to 8)
http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=2
Requirements (what it needs to live)
* Water: Medium to wet
* Maintenance: Low
Identification (what it looks like)
* Good shade tree
* Brilliant red, yellow and orange fall color
[High School students]
Habit (how it grows)
* Height: 40 to 80 feet
* Spread: 30 to 60 feet
* Bloom Time: April
* Bloom Description: Greenish
* Sun: Full sun to part shade
* Tolerate: Heavy shade
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=h240
Tree trunk
http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=2
Seed pods (Samaras)
http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=2
Fall color
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ACSA3
Suggested Use (where to plant it in the garden and landscape): (3 – Missouri Botanic)
* Street Tree – To provide shade for sidewalks and along the road
* Residential – Good shade tree for yards and patios
* Parks – Seth Hand Park
References:
- Google - https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj8ta3Wp-3SAhXCQiYKHVc9Br8QjB0IBg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bowerandbranch.com%2Ft%2F15%2Fgreen-mountain-sugar-maple%2F&bvm=bv.150475504,d.eWE&psig=AFQjCNF8gEDsmgcbtQ5lNLDDuXT64v_IDw&ust=1490381978448399
- VA Tech - http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=2
- Wildflower Center - https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ACSA3
- Missouri Botanic Garden - http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=h240