84 A R B O R E T U M E T F R U T IC E T U M B R I T A N N IC U M .
ri'cer j>latan5ides laciniktum.
It is frequently produced from seed, being found by nurserymen
among seedlings o f the species.
The tree, m general appearance, at a distance, is like the common sycamore ;
u^t, on a nearer approach, th e leaves are found o f a smoother and finer tex tu re ’
The roots extend considerably, both downwards and laterally, The bark is’
trrppn nn fJro Tr/-»nrv/> ---------------------, i_i___c *iiur * i a L c i t i i i y , . j , i i e u a r i i i s
green on the young shoots, but it afterwards becomes o f a reddish brown, dotted
with white points .- th a t o f the trunk is brown, and rather cracked. The buds
are large and red in autumn, becoming o f a still darker red in the course o f the
w in te r: those on the points o f the shoots are always the largest. The leaves
129. A'cer platandides.
are thin, green on both sides, and shining. When the petiole is broken, an acrid
milky sap issues from it, which coagulates with the air. The leaves are about
5 in. long, and nearly the same in width. The petioles are longer than the
leaves. About the end o f October, the leaves become either o f a clear, or a yellowish,
red, and then drop off. The flowers appear ju s t before the leaves, near
the end of April : they form a short raceme, somewhat corymbose. The fruits,
or keys, have their wings yellow. I t is not till the tree has attained the age
o f nearly 40 years th a t it produces fertile seeds, though it will flower many
years before th a t period. The rate o f growth o f this species, when once established,
is from 18 in. to 3 ft. long every year, till it attains the height of 20
or 30 feet ; which, in favourable situations, it does in ten years. The wood
weighs, when dry, 43 lb. 4 oz. per cubic fo o t; is easily worked, takes a fine
polisli, and absorbs and retains all kinds o f colours. I t may be used for all
the various pur|ioses of the wood of the common sj-camore. Sugar is made
from the sap in Norway, Sweden, and Lithuania. Seeds are ripened in England
in abundance.
¥ 7. A. s a c c h a 'rin um L. The Sugar Maple.
Identification. L in . Sp., 1496.; Dec. P ro d ., 1. p. 695.; Do n ’s Mill., I. p. 650.; Tor. and Gray, 1.
Synonymes. Rock Maple, Ha rd Maple, Bird’s-eye Maple, A m e r .; Acero del Canada, Ita t.
Engravings. Michx. Fl. Arb , 2. 1.15. ; th e plate of this species in Arb. B n t., is t edit., vol. v. ; our
fig. 130. i a n ifig . 162. of the leaves, of th e natural size, in the plate forming p. 108, 109.
Sj ec. Char., 4c. Leaves cordate, smooth, glaucous beneath, palmately
3-lobed ; lobes acuminated, serrately toothed. Corymbs drooping, on short
peduncles. Pedicels pilose. F ru it smooth, with the wings diverging. (Don's
M ill.) A deciduous tree. Canada to Georgia. Height in America 60 ft.
to 80 ft. ; in England 30 ft. to 40 ft. Introduced in 1735. Flowers
small, yellowish, and saspended on long, slender, drooping peduncles ;
April and May. Keys brown ; ripe in September, Decaying leaves rich
yellow. Naked young wood smooth, whitish brown.
130. ri'cer saccharinum.
Variety.
¥ A..?. 2. nigrum. A. s. /3 nigrum Tor. if- Gray -, ri. nigrum Michx.;
the black Sugar Tree, or Rock Maple, ilZ'c/iA’. Arb. 2. t. 16.—
Leaves pale green beneath, the veins o f the lower surface and petioles
minutely villous, pubescent ; wings of the fruit a little more diverging.
( f o r . and Gray, i. p. 248.) Michaux, who considered this
variety a s[)ecies, says the leave.s resemble those of the species in
every respect, except th a t they are o f a darker green, and o f a thicker
texture, and somewhat more bluntly lobed. The tree is indiscriminately
mixed with the common sugar maple, through extensive
ranges of country in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut ;
but is readily distinguished from it by the smaller size which it a ttains,
and the darker colour o f its leaves. The soil in which it
flourishes best is a rich, strong, sandy loam ; and th e re it usually
grows to the height of 40 or SO feet.
Closely resembling ri. ^latanbides in foliage, except in being somewhat