North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Acer saccharum

Acer saccharum Marshall

sugar maple, hard maple, sugar tree

Cultivar(s): Sentinalis

Image ID: 9819
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: ACSA3
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Acer saccharum
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-12-17

CULTIVAR INDEX

Cult_id	Cultivar_name	Action
1166	Sentinalis	View

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: ACER
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Acer
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Maple
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 111-126 species, trees and shrubs, primarily north temperate.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Murray (1970)=Z; van Gelderen, de Jong, and Oterdoom (1994); Acevedo-Rodr�guez, van Welzen, Adema, and van der Ham in Kubitzki (2011).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: ACERAC
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Aceraceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Maple Family
FAMILY SUMMARY:
FAMILY REFERENCE:

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT:

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Shrub, Tree

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Apr-Jun

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
			x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
				x	x					x

FRUITING PERIOD: Jun-Sep.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: eastern North America

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text:

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
628	1985-0262			View
631	1985-0265			View
3077	1989-0030			View
5231	1995-0350			View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
1284	628	160	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1285	628	165	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1286	628	168	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1287	628	171	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
1288	628	172	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1289	628	176	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1290	628	177	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1293	631	157	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1294	631	165	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1295	631	198	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5102	3077	77	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
7684	5231	203	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: ACSA3
USDA Common Name: Sugar Maple
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, CT, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SD, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV), CAN (NB, NS, ON, PE, QC)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACU		FACU		FACU	UPL		FACU	FACU	FACU

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Acer saccharum
COMMON NAME: Sugar Maple, Hard Maple, Sugar Tree
SYNONYMY: [= C, Pa, Va; > A. saccharum var. saccharum - F, G, Il, K, Z; > A. saccharum var. rugelii (Pax) Rehder - Il; > A. saccharum var. schneckii Rehder - Il; = A. saccharum ssp. saccharum - RAB, W; = Saccharodendron barbatum (Michaux) Nieuwland - S]
PHENOLOGY: Apr-Jun; Jun-Sep.
HABITAT: Cove forests, other rich forests, especially over mafic and calcareous rocks, on calcareous soils common and typical in dry-mesic forests and dry woodlands as well, less typically extending to high elevation northern hardwood forests where sometimes in acidic situations (as in Highlands County, VA), in parts of the Piedmont perhaps more common as an introduction by ornamental planting than as a native, at least south of VA.
COMMENTS: Two varieties are sometimes recognized. Var. saccharum is distributed from NS west to ND, south to GA, LA, and OK. Var. schneckii Rehder, with petioles and lower leaf surfaces densely pubescent, considered to approach our area in s. PA (Rhoads & Klein 1993), IN, IL, and MO, is probably only a form. A. saccharum is the primary source of maple sugar and maple syrup; formerly, commercial sugaring was done in w. NC and w. VA. Large individuals of this species are the favorite substrate of a number of lichens, including Lobaria pulmonaria. The brown, platy bark is often similar to that of Aesculus flava. For its bright orange fall color, A. saccharum is one of our most prized ornamental trees. In NC, it is most common northward and on mafic rocks, thus reaching perhaps its best development in the amphibolite peaks of Ashe, Watauga, Avery, and Mitchell counties; it is more general in VA.
RANGE MAP: Acer saccharum.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Aceraceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Maple Family)
SUMMARY:
REFERENCE:

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Acer L. (Maple)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 111-126 species, trees and shrubs, primarily north temperate.
REFERENCE: Murray (1970)=Z; van Gelderen, de Jong, and Oterdoom (1994); Acevedo-Rodr�guez, van Welzen, Adema, and van der Ham in Kubitzki (2011).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Acer saccharum in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Acer saccharum in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Acer saccharum in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Acer saccharum in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Acer saccharum in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Acer saccharum

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 9819 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 9819 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 9820 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 3986 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)