Sugar Maple

Illustration of sugar maple leaves, twigs, fruits
Scientific Name
Acer saccharum
Family
Aceraceae (maples)
Description

Sugar maple is a medium to large tree with a large, round crown.

Leaves are opposite, simple, 3–6 inches long, triangular overall, sometimes wider than long, usually 5-lobed but sometimes 3-lobed; lobes tapered to sharply pointed tips, sides of lobes often with secondary lobes or teeth; sinuses between main lobes U-shaped and forming angles less than 90 degrees; upper surface dark green; lower surface pale green, bluish or grayish green, or whitish, smooth except for tufts of hairs at the vein axils.

Bark is smooth and gray on young trees, later darker with grooves and irregular scaly plates.

Twigs are slender, shiny, smooth, green at first, reddish-brown later; pores conspicuous, pale; bud tips sharp-pointed.

Flowers April–May, with male and female flowers commonly on the same tree (sometimes on separate trees), borne on long, hairy, drooping stalks, appearing as the leaves are expanding.

Fruit matures August–October, reddish brown, samaras (winged fruits) usually in pairs, each wing ¾–1½ inches long.

Other Missouri Subspecies

The description above refers to sugar maple's nominate subspecies, Acer saccharum saccharum. Missouri has three other subspecies of sugar maple, too.

  • Black maple (A. saccharum nigrum) is named for its dark gray or black bark; leaf undersides yellowish green to green; uppersides rather dull; the sinuses between main lobes are wide or comparatively shallow, forming angles greater than 90 degrees, mostly 3-lobed. Leaf stems abruptly enlarged at the base. Compared to sugar maple, it is more tolerant of heat and drought; it is scattered in northern Missouri, uncommon south of the Missouri River. Some botanists have considered black maple a distinct species, Acer nigrum.
  • Southern sugar maple (A. saccharum floridanum) has rather small leaves (1¼ to 4 inches long), and lobes with blunt to rounded tips. Bark is beechlike: light gray, smooth, becoming shallowly furrowed or with scaly ridges with age. It is uncommon, occurring in southern and central Missouri. Missouri is at the edge of this subspecies' US range.
  • Schneck's sugar maple (A. saccharum schneckii) looks most similar to black maple (ssp. nigrum), but leaf undersides are not yellowish green. Leaves' lower surface is hairy along the veins. Lobes are tapered but bluntly pointed or even rounded at the tips, usually lacking secondary lobes or teeth. It is uncommon, occurring in eastern and southern Missouri.
Other Common Names
Hard Maple
Size

Height: to 100 feet.

Where To Find
image of Sugar Maple distribution map

Common statewide.

Occurs in moist to dry upland forests, margins of glades, ledges and bases of bluffs, and stream banks. Sugar maple is highly shade tolerant and attains its greatest size and density in the Mississippi and Missouri river hills where the soils are deep and less prone to fires. As a popular ornamental, it is regularly used for landscaping. In New England, the sugar maple, a native species, is losing ground to the somewhat similar-looking Norway maple, introduced long ago from Eurasia, which better tolerates pollution, acid rain, and wintertime road salt treatments and reseeds more prolifically.

Native Americans had many medicinal uses for a tea made from the inner bark, and they taught European colonists how to tap the trees' sweet sap.

Sugar maple is a main source for maple sugar and syrup, a multibillion-dollar industry in North America.

Missourians can tap maple sap and make their own maple syrup. The best time to tap for most of Missouri is usually middle to late January or early February.

The wood is made into furniture, interior finishing, and much more.

When sugar maple grows under adverse conditions, it sometimes develops a pattern of numerous closely spaced buds that die off. Their tiny vestigial knots create a striking pattern of circles in the wood. Woodworkers call this birdseye maple, and it adds value to the lumber, which often becomes veneer for fine furniture.

Sugar maple is a popular ornamental tree, especially for its brilliant yellow, orange, and red fall foliage.

Fall color is a big draw for Missouri tourism, just as it is in the New England and throughout the eastern hardwood forests.

Seeds are eaten by songbirds, squirrels, and small rodents. Deer feed on young twigs, buds, and leaves.

Sugar maple is shade tolerant and often persists under the forest canopy as an understory tree, growing upward quickly should an opening occur. Sugar maples draw moisture upward from deep below the surface and exude it into drier soils closer to the surface; this benefits many plants growing nearby. In forests in cooler climates, sugar maple can form almost pure stands.

Trees provide homes to many kinds of animals, such as birds that nest in their boughs, and insects and spiders, which hide and overwinter in the crevices in the bark.

Media Gallery
Illustration of sugar maple leaves, twigs, fruits
Sugar maple (Acer saccharum saccharum)
Paul Nelson
1/21
sugar maple
Jim Rathert
2/21
Sugar maple tree in fall, showing variety of colors on same tree
In fall, the outermost leaves of sugar maples often turn color first, leaving the green and yellowish leaves in the protected parts.
Jim Rathert
3/21
Multicolored leaves of sugar maple in fall
Sugar maple occurs in moist to dry upland forests, margins of glades, ledges and bases of bluffs, and stream banks.
Jim Rathert
4/21
Orange sugar maple leaves backlit against blue sky
The sun shining through brilliant sugar maple leaves on a sunny October day can be dazzling.
Jim Rathert
5/21
Hammering a tap into the trunk of a sugar maple
Sugar maple is a main source for maple sugar and syrup. You can learn how to do this yourself!
6/21
Sugar maple branch retaining dried, pale leaves in late winter
Young sugar maples often retain their dead, dried leaves throughout the winter instead of shedding them in the fall. It's easy to see them as you look through the winter woods. Not dropping the leaves is called marcescence, and it could help the young tree in several ways.
7/21
Illustration of black maple leaves, twigs, fruit
Black maple (Acer saccharum nigrum)
Paul Nelson
8/21
Photo of black maple tree in fall, view upward into branches
As a popular ornamental, sugar maple, including the black maple subspecies, is regularly used for landscaping.
9/21
Photo of a black maple leaf showing yellow and orange fall color
In black maple leaves, the sinuses between the main lobes are wide or comparatively shallow, forming angles greater than 90 degrees. The leaves are mostly 3-lobed.
10/21
Photo of a black maple trunk, showing bark
The black maple subspecies generally has darker bark than the nominate subspecies of sugar maple.
11/21
Photo of a black maple, showing fall color, on a college campus
Compared to sugar maple, black maple is more tolerant of heat and drought.
12/21
Small sugar maple with fall yellow and green leaves in understory area
Fall color in sugar maples varies according to growing conditions, weather patterns, stresses such as diseases, and the tree’s own genetics. This young tree is growing in a shady, protected area.
Jim Rathert
13/21
Autumn woods showing a patchwork of different colors
The magnificent display of fall color in eastern North America is one of the most spectacular sights involving the plant kingdom. Sugar maples, with their bright reds, oranges, and yellows, play a starring role.
Jim Rathert
14/21
Bright red and orange sugar maple leaves backlit against blue sky
Sugar maple is a popular ornamental tree, especially for its brilliant yellow, orange, and red fall foliage.
Jim Rathert
15/21
Sugar maple in fall color, looking upward into canopy
Sugar maple is highly shade tolerant and attains its greatest size and density in the Mississippi and Missouri river hills where the soils are deep and less prone to fires.
Jim Rathert
16/21
Autumn woods with sugar maples along a rocky shoreline
Fall color is a big draw for Missouri tourism, just as it is in the New England and throughout the eastern hardwood forests.
Jim Rathert
17/21
Sugar maples with orange fall color in a forest
The sugar maple is one of the most valued trees in North America, for its sweet sap, its valuable hardwood, its shade on a hot summer day, and its brilliant color in fall.
Jim Rathert
18/21
Photo of a sugar maple in early fall color
Sugar maples are famous for their beautiful fall color.
Lonnie Messbarger
19/21
Photo of reddish orange sugar maple leaves in fall
Sugar maple is beloved for its brilliant yellow, orange, and red fall foliage.
20/21
Sugar maple tree in Andrew County, showing red fall color on top and south side of tree, with rest of it green
Sugar maples often turn color first on their tops and south-facing sides, where they receive direct sun, while the rest is still green.
Lonnie Messbarger
21/21
Illustration of sugar maple leaves, twigs, fruits
sugar maple
Sugar maple tree in fall, showing variety of colors on same tree
Multicolored leaves of sugar maple in fall
Orange sugar maple leaves backlit against blue sky
Hammering a tap into the trunk of a sugar maple
Sugar maple branch retaining dried, pale leaves in late winter
Illustration of black maple leaves, twigs, fruit
Photo of black maple tree in fall, view upward into branches
Photo of a black maple leaf showing yellow and orange fall color
Photo of a black maple trunk, showing bark
Photo of a black maple, showing fall color, on a college campus
Small sugar maple with fall yellow and green leaves in understory area
Autumn woods showing a patchwork of different colors
Bright red and orange sugar maple leaves backlit against blue sky
Sugar maple in fall color, looking upward into canopy
Autumn woods with sugar maples along a rocky shoreline
Sugar maples with orange fall color in a forest
Photo of a sugar maple in early fall color
Photo of reddish orange sugar maple leaves in fall
Sugar maple tree in Andrew County, showing red fall color on top and south side of tree, with rest of it green
Similar Species

Where to See Species

Fred Bollow Conservation Area
The 41-acre Fred Bollow Conservation Area was donated to the Conservation Commission by Fred and Mary Bollow in March of 1971, "to be held in trust for the use and benefit of the public forever." The
wooden bridge on a path on Maple Woods NA
Maple Woods Natural Area
Maple Woods Natural Area is a mature maple/oak forest and is recognized by the National Park Service as a significant Natural Area.
About Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines in Missouri
There are no sharp dividing lines between trees, shrubs, and woody vines, or even between woody and nonwoody plants. “Wood” is a type of tissue made of cellulose and lignin that many plants develop as they mature — whether they are “woody” or not. Trees are woody plants over 13 feet tall with a single trunk. Shrubs are less than 13 feet tall, with multiple stems. Vines require support or else sprawl over the ground.