Acer nigrum
Black Sugar Maple, Illustration
The black sugar maple (Acer saccharum subsp. Nigrum ), also called black sugar maple and black maple, is a subspecies of the species Acer saccharum from the kind of maples ( Acer) in the family of Soapberry ( Sapindaceae ). It is native to North America.
Description
The Black Sugar Maple grows as a medium-sized tree, reaching heights of growth of about 25 meters. The canopy is very dense elliptical. The variable bark is usually dark gray - brown to black and older trees is furrowed with long, thick, irregular cracks or she is flaky. The thin to medium branches have a brown, gray fluffy hairy at first, later glossy bark, which has lighter lenticels. The brown terminal buds are thick with sharp spitzigem upper end. The oppositely arranged leaves are constantly stalked. The simple leaf blade is usually three-lobed, rarely five-lobed and entire. The large stipules are hairy hand fluffy.
The hanging inflorescences appear simultaneously with the leaves. The small flowers are yellow to green. The horseshoe- shaped gap fruit crumble when ripe in the autumn in two winged fruits.
Distinguish the similar subspecies
Unlike other sugar - maple subspecies the buds are more hairy, the young branches and the lower leaf surface are hairy. The leaves are mostly three-lobed, the incisions between the lobes are less deep. The bark is dark, almost black, and furrowed deeper.
Occurrence
The black sugar maple occurs in Canada in most of the northeastern United States and southern Ontario. In Europe it has been introduced.
It grows mostly in moist to wet, calcareous soils at low altitudes.
System
The first description was in 1812 under the name Acer nigrum by François André Michaux in Histoire des Arbres de l' Amerique Septentrionale Forestier, 2, pp. 238-241, Table 16 Nathaniel Lord Britton gave her in 1889 to the rank of variety in Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences, 9 (1-2 ), pp. 10 Yves Desmarais gave her in 1952 to the rank of subspecies in Brittonia, Volume 7 (5 ), pp. 382
Other synonyms for Acer saccharum subsp. nigrum (. F.Michx ) Desmarais are: Acer nigrum var barbatum ( F.Michx. ) coffin, Acer nigrum var palmeri coffin, Acer nigrum var pseudoplatanoides ( Pax ) Fosberg, Acer nigrum f pubescens Deam, Acer. . nigrum villosum f Deam, Acer nigrum var palmifolium ( F.Michx. ) heavy. , Acer palmifolium var pseuoplatanoides ( Pax ) heavy. , Acer truncatum heavy palmifolium f. , Acer palmifolium f villosum heavy. , Acer saccharinum var. nigrum ( F.Michx. ) Torr. & A. Gray, Acer nigrum var saccharophorum ( F.Michx. ) J.Rousseau, Acer saccharophorum f palmeri ( Sarg. ) J.Rousseau, Acer saccharum var palmeri ( Sarg. ) AEMurray, Acer saccharum var pseudoplatanoides Pax, Saccharodendron nigrum ( F.Michx. ) Small.
Acer saccharum subsp. nigrum ( F.Michx. ) Desmarais belongs to the species Acer saccharum Marshall from the series Saccharodendron in the section within the genus Acer Acer.
Use
The Black Sugar Maple is used similar to the sugar maple to produce maple syrup. His wood is utilized.
Swell
- Sheet at The Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. ( Description section )