Acer saccharinum

{{Short description|Species of maple tree}} {{Distinguish|text=Acer saccharum, the sugar maple}} {{more footnotes needed|date=September 2016}} {{Speciesbox |image = Silber-Ahorn_(Acer_saccharinum).jpg |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 saccharinum'' |volume=2017 |article-number=e.T193862A2287256 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T193862A2287256.en |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref> |genus = Acer |parent = Acer sect. Rubra |species = saccharinum |authority = L. 1753 |range_map = Acer saccharinum range map 1.png |range_map_caption = Natural range of ''Acer saccharinum'' |synonyms_ref = <ref>{{ThePlantList |id=kew-2616367 |taxon=Acer saccharinum}}</ref> |synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true |''Acer coccineum'' Wender. 1831 not F. Michx. 1817 |''Acer dasycarpum'' Ehrh. |''Acer eriocarpum'' Michx. |''Acer pavia'' Dippel |''Acer saira'' K.Koch |''Acer tomentosum'' Desf. |''Acer virginianum'' Mill. ex Steud. |''Argentacer saccharinum'' (L.) Small |''Saccharodendron saccharinum'' Nieuwl. |''Sacchrosphendamnus saccharinus'' Nieuwl. }}}}

'''''Acer saccharinum''''', commonly known as '''silver maple''',<ref name=Silvics>{{Silvics |volume=2 |genus=Acer |species=saccharinum |first=William J. |last=Gabriel}}</ref> '''creek maple''', '''silverleaf maple''',<ref name=Silvics/> '''soft maple''', '''large maple''',<ref name=Silvics/> '''water maple''',<ref name=Silvics/> '''swamp maple''',<ref name=Silvics/> or '''white maple''',<ref name=Silvics/> is a species of maple native to the eastern and central United States and southeastern Canada.<ref name=Silvics/><ref>{{BONAP|ref |genus=Acer |species=saccharinum |state=1}}</ref> It is one of the most common trees in the United States.

Although the silver maple's Latin name is similar, it should not be confused with ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple. Some of the common names are also applied to other maples, especially ''Acer rubrum''.

The silver maple tree is a relatively fast-growing deciduous tree, commonly reaching a height of {{convert|15|–|25|m|ft|abbr=on}}, exceptionally {{convert|35|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Its spread will generally be {{convert|11|–|15|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide. A 10-year-old sapling will stand about {{convert|8|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall. It is often found along waterways and in wetlands, leading to the colloquial name "water maple". It is a highly adaptable tree, although it has higher sunlight requirements than other maple trees. The leaves are simple and palmately veined, {{cvt|8|–|16|cm|frac=4}} long and {{cvt|6|–|12|cm|frac=4}} broad, with deep angular notches between the five lobes. The {{cvt|5|–|12|cm|frac=4}} long, slender stalks of the leaves mean that even a light breeze can produce a striking effect as the downy silver undersides of the leaves are exposed. The autumn color is less pronounced than in many maples, generally ending up a pale yellow, although some specimens can produce a more brilliant yellow and even orange and red colorations. The tree has a tendency to color and drop its leaves slightly earlier in autumn than other maples.

The flowers are in dense clusters, produced before the leaves in early spring,<ref>{{Jepson eFlora|10696|Acer |type=key}}</ref> with the seeds maturing in early summer. The fruit is a schizocarp of two single-seeded, winged samaras. The wing of each samara is about {{cvt|3|–|5|cm|frac=4}} long. The fruit of this species is the largest among the maples native to its range. Although the wings provide for some transport by air, the fruit are heavy and are also transported by water. Silver maple and its close cousin red maple are the only ''Acer'' species which produce their fruit crop in spring instead of fall. The seeds of both trees have no epigeal dormancy and will germinate immediately. Seed production begins at 11 years of age and large crops are produced most years. Like most maples, silver maple can be variably dioecious (separate male or female trees) or monoecious (male and female flowers on the same tree) but dioecious trees are far more common. They can also change sex from year to year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Silber-Ahorn: Expertenwissen für den Garten |url=https://www.naturadb.de/pflanzen/acer-saccharinum/ |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=www.naturadb.de |language=de}}</ref>

On mature trunks, the bark is gray and shaggy. On branches and young trunks, the bark is smooth and silvery gray.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

==Cultivation and uses==

Wildlife uses the silver maple in various ways. In many parts of the eastern U.S., the large rounded buds are one of the primary food sources for squirrels during the spring, after many acorns and nuts have sprouted and the squirrels' food is scarce. The seeds are also a food source for chipmunks and birds. The bark can be eaten by beaver and deer. The trunks tend to produce cavities, which can shelter squirrels, raccoons, opossums, owls and woodpeckers, and are frequented by carpenter ants.<ref name=USDA_Plant_Guide>{{cite web|last=Geyer|first=W. A.|title=Plant Guide for Silver Maple (''Acer saccharinum'' L.)|url=https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_acsa2.pdf|work=Plant Guide|publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service|access-date=2012-10-10|author2=J. Dickerson |author3=J. M. Row|location=Manhattan, KS|year=2010}}</ref> Additionally, the leaves serve as a source of food for species of Lepidoptera, such as the rosy maple moth (''Dryocampa rubicunda'').<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Dryocampa_rubicunda/|title=Dryocampa rubicunda (rosy maple moth)|website=Animal Diversity Web|language=en|access-date=2017-11-14}}</ref>

The wood can be used as pulp for making paper.<ref name=MapleInfo>{{cite web|title=Silver Maple, ''Acer saccharinum'' L.|url=http://www.mapleinfo.org/htm/silver.cfm|work=Maple Field Guide|publisher=MapleInfo.org|access-date=2012-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109070027/http://www.mapleinfo.org/htm/silver.cfm|archive-date=2013-01-09}}</ref> Lumber from the tree is used in furniture, cabinets, flooring, musical instruments, crates, and tool handles, because it is light and easily worked. Because of the silver maple's fast growth, it is being researched as a potential source of biofuels.<ref name=USDA_Plant_Guide /> Silver maple produces a sweet sap but it is generally not used by commercial sugarmakers because its sugar content is lower than in other maple species.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_acsa2.pdf|author=Geyer, W. A. |author2=J. Dickerson |author3=J. M. Row|year=2010|title=Plant Guide for Silver Maple (''Acer saccharinum'' L.)|publisher=USDA- Natural Resources Conservation Service}}</ref>

Silver maple is often planted as an ornamental tree because of its rapid growth and ease of propagation and transplanting. It is highly tolerant of urban situations and is frequently planted next to streets. However, its quick growth produces brittle wood which is commonly damaged in storms. The silver maple's root system is shallow and fibrous and easily invades septic fields and old drain pipes; it can also crack sidewalks and foundations. It is a vigorous resprouter, and if not pruned, will often grow with multiple trunks. Although it naturally is found near water, it can grow on drier ground if planted there. In ideal natural conditions, ''A. saccharinum'' may live up to 130 years but in urban environments often 80 or less.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Following World War'' ''II, silver maples were commonly used as a landscaping and street tree in suburban housing developments and cities due to their rapid growth, especially as a replacement for the blighted American elm. However, they fell out of favor for this purpose because of brittle wood, unattractive form when not pruned or trained, and tendency to produce large numbers of volunteer seedlings. Today the tree has fallen so far out of favor that some towns and cities have banned its use as a street tree.<ref name="denvertrees">{{cite web |title=Approved Street Tree List for Denver's Public Rights-of-way |url=https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/747/documents/forestry/Street_tree_guide.pdf |website=denvergov.org |publisher=Denver Office of the City Forester |access-date=2018-11-21}}</ref><ref name="loditrees">{{cite web |title=Prohibited Street Trees/Shrubs |url=http://www.cityoflodi.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/1441?fileID=1899 |website=cityoflodi.us |publisher=City of Lodi |access-date=2018-11-21}}</ref>

Silver maple's natural range encompasses most of the eastern US, the Midwestern US and southern Canada, that being Southern Ontario and southwestern Quebec. It is generally absent from the humid US coastal plain south of Maryland, so it is confined to the Appalachians in those states. It does not occur along the Gulf Coast or in Florida outside a few scattered locations in the panhandle.

It is commonly cultivated outside its native range, showing tolerance of a wide range of climates, and growing successfully as far north as central Norway. It also is in Anchorage, Alaska.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tony |title=Trees Near Their Limits -- Alaska |url=http://treesneartheirlimitsalaska.blogspot.com/ |access-date=2023-05-31 |language=en}}</ref> It can thrive in a Mediterranean climate, as at Jerusalem and Los Angeles, if summer water is provided.

The silver maple is closely related to the red maple (''Acer rubrum'') and can hybridise with it. The hybrid is known as the Freeman maple (''Acer × freemanii''). The Freeman maple is a popular ornamental tree in parks and large gardens, combining the fast growth of silver maple with the less brittle wood, less invasive roots, and the beautiful bright red fall foliage of the red maple. The cultivar ''Acer × freemanii'' {{smallcaps|Autumn Blaze}} = 'Jeffersred'<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/66660/i-Acer-i-×-i-freemanii-i-Font-Face-times-New-Roman-Autumn-Blaze-FONT-Jeffersred/Details | title=Acer × freemanii Autumn Blaze = 'Jeffersred' | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date=29 December 2017}}</ref> has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

The silver maple is the favored host of the maple bladder gall mite ''Vasates quadripedes''.<ref name="Redfern">{{cite book|author1=Redfern M. |author2=Shirley P.R. |author3=Bloxham M. |title=British Plant Galls|year=2011|publisher=Field Studies Council|location=Preston Montford|isbn=978-1-85153-284-1|page=23|edition=Second }}</ref>

===Native American ethnobotany=== Native Americans used the sap of wild trees to make sugar, as medicine, and in bread. They used the wood to make baskets and furniture.<ref name=USDA_Plant_Guide /> An infusion of bark removed from the south side of the tree is used by the Mohegan as cough medicine.<ref>Tantaquidgeon, Gladys. "1928 Mohegan Medicinal Practices, Weather-Lore and Superstitions". SI-BAE Annual Report #43: 264-270 (p. 269)</ref> The Cherokee take an infusion of the bark to treat cramps, menstrual pains, dysentery, and hives.<ref name="Hamel, Paul B 1975, page 44">Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey, 1975, ''Cherokee Plants and Their Uses -- A 400 Year History,'' Sylva, N.C.: Herald Publishing Co., page 44</ref> They boil the inner bark and use it with water as a wash for sore eyes. They take a hot infusion of the bark to treat measles. They use the tree to make baskets, for lumber, building material, and for carving.<ref name="Hamel, Paul B 1975, page 44"/>

==Photo gallery== <gallery> File:Silver Maple Inaugural Buds.jpg|A silver maple just beginning to bud in mid-February, Boise, Idaho File:MAPLE SILVER twig.jpg|Twig and buds in early March File:Soft Maple Helicopter.jpg|Samaras and leaves forming in April File:Acer saccharinum female flowers.jpg|Female flowers File:2014-11-02 15 41 21 Silver Maple foliage during autumn along Glen Mawr Drive in Ewing, New Jersey.JPG|Autumnal foliage, Ewing, New Jersey </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=ACSA2 United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile: ''Acer saccharinum''] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20040816112718/http://www.hort.uconn.edu/Plants/a/acesac/acesac1.html University of Connecticut Plant Database: Silver Maple] * [https://archive.today/20060924004332/http://wildwnc.org/trees/Acer_saccharinum.html Trees of Western North Carolina: Silver Maple] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080111083757/http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/acsa2.htm ''Acer saccharinum'' images from Vanderbilt University] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090512134506/http://www.portraitoftheearth.com/trees/redsilvermaple.html Portrait of the Earth, Winter ID pictures] * [http://www.plantmaps.com/nrm/acer-saccharinum-silver-maple-native-range-map.php Plant Maps, Interactive Distribution Map for ''Acer saccharinum''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113090703/http://www.plantmaps.com/nrm/acer-saccharinum-silver-maple-native-range-map.php |date=2013-01-13 }} * [https://www.tropicos.org/image/88052 photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Missouri in 1989]

saccharinum Category:Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Category:Flora of the Great Lakes region Category:Flora of Eastern Canada Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Category:Garden plants of North America Category:Ornamental trees Category:Trees of Northern America