Acer saccharinum

Silver maple (Acer saccharinum )

The silver maple (Acer saccharinum ) is a plant of the genus maples ( Acer). It is native in eastern North America and is used as an ornamental plant.

Description

Vegetative characteristics

The silver maple grows as a deciduous tree and can reach heights of growth of up to 36 meters. Its bark is smooth and gray colored. Mostly he is, however, rather verzwieselt niedrigwüchsig and bushy. He wears overhanging branches, but he can on the trunk train numerous water shoots and suckers.

The 7-14 cm wide leaves are - as is typical for maples - deeply lobed and incised doppelsägezähnig. The name comes from the silvery gray leaf. In autumn the leaves show color from a wide range of yellow to dark red.

Generative features

The flowering time is in February-March before the outbreak of the foliage. The flowers are in dense clusters. The typical maple - leaf species have fruits with this type a 3.5 to 5 centimeters long handle and curved, far ausspreizende wings. In June these fruits fall off individually and germinate in the same year.

Dissemination

The silver maple is widespread over much of the lowlands of eastern North America.

Use

In the moderates widths of the silver maple is used as an ornamental plant in gardens, parks and streets.

In the country of origin of ascending to the branches in spring juice for sugar manufacture (maple syrup ) is used, similar to sugar maple (Acer saccharum ). Beekeepers appreciate the flower of the tree in Germany as an excellent bee pasture to winter season due to the very high nectar content of the rating level 4 ( Pritsch, 2007). At its peak in February / March it is often found high honeybee densities in the treetops.

The wood of silver maple is next to the red maple (Acer rubrum) in North America as "American soft maple " on the market and is used in furniture making and for veneer production. It is softer than that of sugar maple ( " hard maple ").

Pictures

Upper leaf surface

Fruits