{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the lychee family Sapindaceae}} {{Speciesbox | name = Black maple | image = Acer nigrum - University of Kentucky Arboretum - DSC09326.JPG | image_caption = | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 13 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Barstow, M. |author2=Crowley, D. |date=2017 |title=''Acer nigrum'' |volume=2017 |article-number=e.T61961045A61961056 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T61961045A61961056.en |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref> | status2 = G5 | status2_system = TNC | status2_ref = <ref name=NS>{{cite NatureServe |id=2.138128 |title=''Acer nigrum'' |access-date=31 October 2025}}</ref> | genus = Acer | display_parents = 2 | parent = Acer ser. Saccharodendron | species = nigrum | authority = F.Michx. | range_map = Acer nigrum range map 1.png | range_map_caption = ''Acer nigrum'' natural range | synonyms = ''Acer saccharum'' subsp. ''nigrum'' }}
'''''Acer nigrum''''', the '''black maple''', is a species of maple closely related to ''A. saccharum'' (sugar maple), and treated by some authors as a subspecies of it, as ''Acer saccharum'' subsp. ''nigrum''.<ref name=usda>{{PLANTS |symbol=ACNI5 |taxon=Acer nigrum}}</ref><ref name=grin>{{GRIN | ''Acer saccharum'' subsp. ''nigrum'' | 314801 | accessdate = 2017-12-20}}</ref>
Identification can be confusing due to the tendency of the two species to form hybrids. The simplest and most accurate method for distinguishing between the two trees is the generally three-lobed leaves of the black maple versus the generally five-lobed leaves of the sugar maple. The leaves of the black maple also tend to have a drooping appearance. Other differences that are not as pronounced include darker, more deeply grooved bark, slightly smaller seeds, a downy underside, and thicker petioles. Hybrids are intermediate in their characteristics.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}}
==Distribution== The geographic range of ''A. nigrum'' is slightly more limited than the sugar maple, encompassing much of the Midwestern United States, portions of the Eastern United States, and the southeast of Canada in southern Ontario.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/acernigr.pdf |title=Acer nigrum Range Map |access-date=2008-03-06 |publisher=United States Geological Survey |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509170555/http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/acernigr.pdf |archive-date=2008-05-09}}</ref>
==Description== thumb|left|upright|Illustration from 1913's ''Illustrated flora of the northern states and Canada''
The black maple's mature height ranges from {{convert|21|to|34|m|ft|sp=us}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/acer/nigrum.htm |title=USDA Forest Service Guide to Black Maple |access-date=2014-08-24 |publisher=USDA Forest Service |archive-date=2015-04-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424023221/http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/acer/nigrum.htm }}</ref>
==Uses== This species is used similarly to the ''A. saccharum'', for timber as hard maple, for landscaping, and for maple syrup production.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}
==See also== * List of foods made from maple
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==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090707011032/http://www.portraitoftheearth.com/trees/amurmaple.html Winter ID pictures] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150906013421/http://www.plantmaps.com/nrm/acer-nigrum-black-maple-native-range-map.php Interactive Distribution Map of ''Acer nigrum'']
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nigrum Category:Trees of Northern America