The Maples - Family Acerace

THE MAPLES - FAMILY ACERACE. Genus ACER, Linn. Trees valuable for timber and ornament. Leaves simple (except Nevdo), opposite, palmately veined and lobed, decidu ous. Flowers inconspicuous, racemed or in corymbs. Fruits paired, winged samaras.

KeY TO SPECIES A. Leaves simple, palmately lobed.

B. Bloom before the leaves in lateral clusters; fruit ripe in May or June.

C. Flowers red; leaves shallowly lobed, serrate, pale beneath. (A. rubrum) RED Or SWAMP MAPLE CC. Flowers greenish yellow; leaves deeply 5-cleft, silvery white beneath.

(A. saccharinum) SILVER MAPLE BB. Bloom after the leaves, from terminal buds; fruit ripe in autumn.

C. Petals present in flowers.

D. Flowers in erect, compact racemes.

(A. sticatum) MOUNTAIN MAPLE DD. Flowers in loose, drooping racemes.

E. Leaves 8 to 12 inches across, deeply 5-lobed. (A. macrophyllum) BROAD-LEAVED MAPLE EE. Leaves 5 to 6 inches across, 3-lobed at apex; bark stripped with white lines.

(A. Pennsylvanicurn) STRIPED MaPLE DDD. Flowers in drooping terminal corymbs. E. Leaves 7 to 9-lobed, circular.

(A. circinatum) VINE MAPLE EE. Leaves 3-lobed or divided.

(A. glabrum) DWARF MAPLE CC. Petals wanting; flowers in corymbs.

D. Corymbs without stalks.

E. Leaves pale beneath.

F. Lobes of leaves blunt, pubescent beneath; margins wavy.

(A. Floridanum) SUGAR MAPLE FF. Lobes of leaves sharp, smooth beneath; margins toothed.

(A. Saccharum) SUGAR MAPLE EE. Leaves green beneath, pubescent.

F. Branchlets slender; leaves thin, bright yellow-green.

(A. leucoderme) SUGAR MAPLE FF. Branchlets stout, orange coloured; leaves thick, drooping, dull green.

(A. nigrum) BLACK MAPLE DD. Corymbs on short stalks; leaves 3-lobed, pale and pubescent beneath; lobes with large rounded teeth.

(A. grandiclentala) LARGE-TOOTH MaPLE AA. Leaves pinnately compound, leaflets 3 to 5; flowers dice cious. (A. Negundo) BOX ELDER Opposite leaves palmately veined and lobed, and paired keys with long wings—these characters are the hallmark of the maple' family the world over. No amount of "improvement" blots these out of the most ultra new variety. No other tree has both leaves and fruits likely to be confused with a maple's.

The genus Acer comprises between sixty and seventy species, well scattered over the Northern Hemisphere. China and Japan are the original home and the centre of population for them, having about thirty native maples. Twelve species are found in the Himalayas, and twelve in Europe and Asia Minor. Nine are native to North America. Of these, two are on the Pacific coast, one among the Rocky Mountains, five in the eastern half of the continent, and there is one species "at large." Red or Scarlet Maple, Swamp Maple (Acer rubrum, Linn.)—A spreading, symmetrical tree, 8o to 12o feet high, oftener less, slender with erect branches. Bark flaky, in plates, dark grey; paler branches; twigs red. Wood pale, brownish red, hard, close grained. Buds opposite, blunt, red; flower buds clustered on side spurs. Leaves variable in size, 3 to 6 inches long, not so wide; with 3 to 5 triangular lobes, separated by triangular sinuses; margins twice cut-toothed; lining whitish, often downy; petioles long, slender, often red; autumn colours Scarlet and crimson. Flowers: pistillate red, staminate orange, in earliest spring before the leaves; on same or different trees. Fruit, May, smooth, paired samaras, inch long; wings divergent, hung on slender pedicels, 3 to 4 inches long, seed germinating immediately; rarely the next spring. Preferred habitat, swampy ground, borders of streams. Distribution, Eastern States to Wisconsin, Nebraska and Texas. Most common in lower Miss issippi Valley. Uses: Valuable ornamental and shade tree. Wood used for gun stocks, tool handles, oars, furniture and miscellaneous woodenwares. Excellent for fuel. Occasional curly and bird's-eye logs used for veneering in cabinet work.

"The maple puts her corals on in May, While loitering frosts about the lowlands cling, To be in tune with what the robins sing, Plastering new log huts 'mid her branches grey; But when the autumn southward turns away, Then in her veins burns most the blood of spring, And every leaf, intensely blossoming, Makes the year's sunset pale the set of day." —Lowell.