Sugar Maple

Acer saccharum

Dimensions:

• Height: 60’ - 80’

• Mature spread: 40’ - 50’

• Trunk Diameter: 2’ - 3’

Habitat and Range:

• occurs in every county in Kentucky, although less common in western Kentucky

• found in mesic forests (meaning the soil is consistently moist, but not waterlogged)

Features:

• known for its sweet sap, which can be boiled into maple syrup

• unlike that of New England, the climate in Kentucky does not favor high yield of maple sugar

• sugar maple leaf graces the flag of Canada

• uses include furniture, violins, basketball courts, baseball bats, and bowling alleys and pins

• native to eastern and central North America

• does not fare well in urban air pollution, and intolerant of road salt

History:

• Native American groups — including the Algonquin, Cherokee, Dakota, and Iroquois — used maple sap to make syrup and sugar; Micmac used bark to make a beverage

• sugar maple was a premier source of sweetener, along with honey, for Native Americans and early European settlers