Virginia Tech Dendrology

sugar maple Aceraceae Acer saccharum Marshall symbol: ACSA3
Leaf: Opposite, simple and palmately veined, 3 to 6 inches long, 5 delicately rounded lobes, entire margin; green above, paler below.
Flower: Light yellow-green, small, clustered, hanging from a long, slender (1 to 3 inch) stem, appearing with or slightly before the leaves in early spring.
Fruit: Two-winged horseshoe-shaped samaras about 1 inch long, appearing in clusters, brown when mature in in the fall.
Twig: Brown, slender and shiny with lighter lenticels; terminal buds brown, very sharp pointed, with tight scales.
Bark: Variable, but generally brown, on older trees it becomes darker, develops furrows, with long, thick irregular curling outward, firm ridges.
Form: Medium to tall tree (to 100 feet) with very dense elliptical crown.
Looks like: red maple - black maple - Norway maple - Florida maple

Additional Range Information: Acer saccharum is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Fall Color - Wood
External Links: USDAFS Silvics of North America - USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information - USDAFS Forest Products Lab
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information