Editing 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 |page=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 = [[Carl Linnaeus|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'' <small>Wender. 1831 not F. Michx. 1817</small>
|''Acer dasycarpum'' <small>Ehrh.</small>
|''Acer eriocarpum'' <small>Michx.</small>
|''Acer pavia'' <small>Dippel</small>
|''Acer saira'' <small>K.Koch</small>
|''Acer tomentosum'' <small>Desf.</small>
|''Acer virginianum'' <small>Mill. ex Steud.</small>
|''Argentacer saccharinum'' <small>(L.) Small</small>
|''Saccharodendron saccharinum'' <small>Nieuwl.</small>
|''Sacchrosphendamnus saccharinus'' <small>Nieuwl.</small>
}}}}

'''''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]]''.

==Description==
[[File:Silver maple leaf.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Mature leaf]]
[[Image:Silver-maple-bark.jpg|thumb|right|Typical bark]]

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 [[leaf|leaves]] are [[leaf shape|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 [[flower]]s are in dense clusters, produced before the leaves in early spring,<ref>{{Jepson eFlora|10696|Acer |type=key}}</ref> with the [[seed]]s maturing in early summer. The fruit is a [[schizocarp]] of two single-seeded, winged [[Samara (fruit)|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 germination|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 [[chipmunk]]s and birds. The bark can be eaten by [[beaver]] and [[deer]]. The trunks tend to produce cavities, which can shelter squirrels, [[raccoon]]s, [[opossum]]s, [[owl]]s and [[woodpecker]]s, and are frequented by [[carpenter ant]]s.<ref name=USDA_Plant_Guide>{{cite web|last=Geyer|first=W. A.|title=Plant Guide for Silver Maple (''Acer saccharinum'' L.)|url=http://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 (paper)|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|url-status=dead}}</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 [[biofuel]]s.<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=http://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 plant|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.&nbsp;saccharinum'' may live up to 130 years but in urban environments often 80 or less.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Following [[World War II|World War''&nbsp;''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. It is also grown in temperate parts of the [[Southern Hemisphere]]: [[Argentina]], [[Uruguay]], [[Venezuela]], the [[Brazil|southern states of Brazil]] (and in a few low-temperature locations within the states of [[São Paulo]] and [[Minas Gerais]]).{{citation needed|date=October 2011}}

The silver maple is closely related to the [[red maple]] (''[[Acer rubrum]]'') and can hybridise with it. The [[Hybrid (biology)|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 (biology)|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===
[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] used the sap of wild trees to make [[Maple sugar|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]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q158301}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Maple|saccharinum]]
[[Category:Flora of the Appalachian Mountains]]
[[Category:Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America)]]
[[Category:Flora of Eastern Canada]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category: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]]