Tree Description:
A tree to 50 feet with a dense, oval crown and a trunk to 2 feet in diameter. The southern version of the true sugar maple.
Range/Site Description:
Occurs near streams and in rich, sloping woodlands in East Texas.
Leaf:
Simple, oppositely attached to the twigs, leaf blade 1.5" to 3" long, with 3 to 5 lobes and a petiole 1.5" to 3" long. Leaves turn brilliant colors from yellow to red in autumn.
Flower:
Indistinct; yellow-green, borne with the new leaves.
Fruit:
Fruit is a double samara-or "key"-made up of two winged seeds joined at the base, each about 0.75" long, enclosing a single green seed.
Bark:
Tight and gray when young, developing broad, flat plates divided by shallow fissures when older.
Wood:
Wood is used for furniture, flooring, and shoe lasts. Syrup production not as reliable as the northern sugar maple.
Similar Species:
Chalk maple (Acer leucoderme) is small tree in deep East Texas. Leaf resembles typical sugar maple (A. saccharum), but is smaller and the lobes have few, if any, teeth.
Interesting Facts:
Almost all of the bowling alleys in the world use sugar maple for the alley floors.
