Facts About Sugar Maple Trees

The scientific name of sugar maple is Acer saccharum. Sugar maple tree is a native of North America and is the most commonly found species amongst the seven other types of maple trees. It grows in abundance throughout South Ontario, Nova Scotia, New England, Texas, Georgia, Canada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic states. Sugar maple tree facts are pretty interesting to know. Especially kids can utilize the content to make environmental science project works or for their scrap books.

Facts About Sugar Maple Trees

Maple trees are usually grown in gardens as landscaping plants owing to its beauty and the extensive branching system. You might be well accustomed with maple syrup that has an extensive use for making desserts and is a common serving over dining table. Sugar maple trees are found in almost all places in the United States. We describe the facts here.

1. The normal height of sugar maple trees ranges between 70 to 100 feet. The trees have an average diameter of 5 feet. The trees when grown under optimal condition can even exceed the height of 100 feet. One of the important facts that kids should know is, the tallest or the largest Sugar Maple tree has a height of 110 feet and a width of 5.6 feet. This tree is present in Bethany, West Virginia. During the initial years of its growth the bark appears dark gray in color but matured trees have a very rough textured dark brown colored bark.

2. Sugar maple has singlet leaves that are dark green in color. The undersurface of the leaves are comparatively less dark. The size of the leaves lengthwise is 3-5 inches and they are very smooth. The buds are arranged on the twigs in an opposite fashion and are pointed sharp, appearing brown in color. The color of the flowers ranges from pale yellow to greenish yellow and they are arranged in clusters. The plant is monoecious containing both male and female reproductive organs. The male flower is pistillate while the female is staminate.

3. The tree normally flourishes during the month of January within temperatures ranging from 0 to 50 °F. Sugar maple is also adapted to summer temperatures prevalent in those geographical locations. It can tolerate summer temperatures of 90 to 100 °F. The tree can sustain annual rainfall of 20-50 inches but the heavy frost during the month of September and November is harmful for the plants. Like temperature, sugar maple is capable of growing under a different soil varieties. If you are growing sugar maple at your home, then make sure the soil is well drained, fertile and has good texture. Maintain the moisture conditions of the soil ensuring there's no water clogging or dampness. The optimal pH should range from 5.5-7.3.

4. Sugar maple produces huge quantities of seeds, that forms food for the seed eater animals. Seeds are capable of germination and hence, you can use the seeds for propagation of plants. You will find the trees blooming with flowers during the seed bearing season. Sugar maple produces sap and while pruning maple trees you have to be careful that the sap doesn't fall on you. Pruning is usually done during late summer or fall season. Large quantities of sap is collected during January to April that is industrially used to manufacture maple syrup.

5. Sugar maple trees are susceptible to a number of diseases. The most common diseases are gall and canker disease, caused by fungal attack. Sclerotium bataticola and Rhizoctonia solani are some of the plant pathogens that attack these plants during seedling stage. The plant is more vulnerable to stem, vascular and foliage diseases due to fungal and bacterial attack. Thus, the plants are carefully investigated for healthy growth and reproduction. Sugar maple also has considerable economic importance as the trunks are used for lumbering and the sap for syrup.