{"id":338,"date":"2025-09-25T20:19:49","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T00:19:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/?p=338"},"modified":"2025-09-25T20:19:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T00:19:49","slug":"sugar-maple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/sugar-maple\/","title":{"rendered":"Sugar Maple"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns sidebar is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em><em><em><em><em><em><em><em><em><em>Acer saccharum<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-intro\">An icon of New England and Canada, sugar maples are known for their stunning fall colors and sap which can be boiled into maple syrup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group boxout has-light-green-background-color has-background is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-12dd3699 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Location<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>An icon of New England and Canada, sugar maples are known for their stunning fall colors and sap which can be boiled into maple syrup.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/sugar-maple-leaf.jpg\" alt=\"Sugar Maple Tree leaves\" class=\"wp-image-340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/sugar-maple-leaf.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/sugar-maple-leaf-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/sugar-maple-leaf-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:4rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull section-intro has-light-warm-gray-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-stretch is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"background-image:url(&apos;https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/sugar-maple-tree.jpg&apos;);background-position:50% 50%;background-size:cover;\" class=\"wp-block-group padded lifted has-white-background-color has-background wp-container-content-69bc4bdf is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:25.625rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group padded has-charcoal-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-fc041f17975cb2a21cb9f65a29ca01d5 is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">History at Hadwen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"intro has-medium-font-size\">The striped, red, and sugar maples are documented on the Hadwen estate as early as 1882, but the sugar maple is not recorded until 1900 when Hadwen documented the sugar maple as one of the most prominent of his 20 varieties of maple tree. He writes that the maple family is one of \u201cgreat beauty, and its members are in the front rank of deciduous trees.\u201d He planted many along the streets and roads which gave an \u201cabundance of shade, and are the glory of the autumn.\u201d To him, the maple was \u201ca favorite tree which well repays the attention it receives.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group section is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div style=\"color:var(--clarku-color-green)\" class=\"eyebrow  has-text-align-left\">Keep learning<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Detailed species information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The sugar maple is a deciduous tree in the family Sapindaceae native to the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. The sugar maple is a large tree, ranging from 50\u2013100 feet (15\u201330 meters) in height and 4 feet (1.2 meters) in trunk diameter. The sugar maple also is a long-lived tree, with some specimens living up to 300 years. The sugar maple\u2019s bark is gray-brown and develops a vertical scaley texture with age. Its green leaves are five-lobed as typical for many maple species. In fall, sugar maple leaves turn brilliant shades of orange, red, and yellow. The fruits of the sugar maple are two-winged samara, also commonly found in many maple species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tree prefers rich, well-drained soil and cool woodlands. It is considered to be a highly shade-tolerant species. In New England, the maple tree faces threats caused by invasive species including the Norway maple (<em>Acer platanoides<\/em>) and the pest Asain long-horned beetle (<em>Anoplophora glabripennis<\/em>). Because of their tolerance to urban conditions, high levels of seed production, and fast growth, the Norway maple often outcompetes sugar maples in many natural areas. The Asian long-horned beetle, which infests maple trees, bores into maple bark and disrupts the transport of vital nutrients and water. The Asian long-horned beetle was introduced to the United States in 1996 and was found in Worcester County in 2008. For this reason, many of the sugar maples in the Hadwen Arboretum are treated to protect against the Asian longhorn beetle and are marked with tags that read \u201cdo not tap.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sugar maple is highly valued for its wood. Its lumber is durable and has a unique wavy grain. It is ideal for furniture, flooring, and decorative veneers. The tree is also prized in landscaping for its ornamental value, with many cultivars selected for their brilliant fall foliage. Most notably, the sugar maple is one of the most important trees for the production of maple syrup. Sugar maple sap is harvested from the tree in early spring and boiled down to create a sweet syrup with a distinct \u201cmaple\u201d flavor. The tree\u2019s sap is also used in traditional medicine to treat coughs and other respiratory ailments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Acer saccharum An icon of New England and Canada, sugar maples are known for their stunning fall colors and sap which can be boiled into maple syrup. Location An icon of New England and Canada, sugar maples are known for their stunning fall colors and sap which can be boiled into maple syrup. History at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":340,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trees"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sugar Maple | Hadwen Arboretum | Clark University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/sugar-maple\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sugar Maple\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Acer saccharum An icon of New England and Canada, sugar maples are known for their stunning fall colors and sap which can be boiled into maple syrup. Location An icon of New England and Canada, sugar maples are known for their stunning fall colors and sap which can be boiled into maple syrup. 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