Family Aceraceæ
Maples have long been famous for beauty of blossom in the early spring, and richness of foliage in the late summer and autumn; but a study of the twigs and buds after the leaves have fallen, the varying colors of buds and stems, the delicacy of twigs and branches, and grace of outline as trees demonstrates effectively the unusual beauty of the maples in winter.
The family name Acer comes from the Latin word for sharp, which was originally derived from ac, a Celtic word meaning a point. The name was given to this genus because the wood was much sought after in ancient times for the heads of pikes and lances.
Among some forty species of maple there are six native species, if the ash-leaved maple is included in this genus. Two species from Europe, the Norway and sycamore maples, are planted commonly throughout New England.
All the maples have opposite leaf-scars.
Sugar or Rock Maple Acer saccharum
The general shape is erect, with smooth, clean branches. In old trees the bark breaks away in long, shallow fissures with curling ridges, giving the trunk a ploughed appearance. The buds are narrow, brown, and sharp-pointed. Delicate pinkish leaves folded inside the bud. Leaf-scars small and opposite; also the twigs branch opposite each other.
Among the different characteristics of this tree in winter, two stand out conspicuously as unfailing means of identification,—the sharp-pointed brown buds and the rough furrowed trunk with smooth places between the fissures. When young it can be distinguished at a distance by its erect habit of growth and general shapeliness, the main trunk often extending up into the tree unbroken by divisions.
SUGAR MAPLE
Acer saccharum
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TRUNK OF A YOUNG SUGAR MAPLE
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The sugar maple is typically American, and is especially associated in our minds with the farming and country life of New England. It is found in all the Northeastern States growing wild and extensively cultivated. Maple sugar is made from the sap of this tree in the early spring. A clear, bright day and a westerly wind succeeding a frosty night are most favorable to the flow of sap, according to Emerson. A hole is bored in the trunk of the tree, and the sap flows for about three weeks. It is collected daily in buckets, and then boiled into syrup. A sugar maple should not be tapped before it is twenty-five or thirty years old, but after that age it may be tapped annually as long as it lives. The wood of this tree is hard and smooth, and is much used for furniture and the interior finishing of houses. Occasionally a tree is found where the fibres of the wood are contorted irregularly into round points called bird’s eyes. The cause of this peculiar bird’s-eye maple is unknown, and the theory that the grain is diverted by the tapping of woodpeckers for the sweet sap is an unsatisfactory explanation, for some trees are thickly covered, while others do not have a single spot.
The Latin name, Acer saccharum—sugar maple—came from the Arabic, Soukar.
Red or Swamp Maple Acer rubrum
A low tree, with a rounded head, smooth gray bark, reddish twigs dotted with brown, and small, round red buds with smooth scales. When old the bark cracks and peels off in long, slender flakes. Small leaf-scars opposite each other on the stem. The flowers come before the leaves, from the round flower buds clustered around the stem.
Even in the middle of winter the red maple is true to its distinctive characteristic of color, and one marvels to find so much red in its buds and twigs. The gray trunks are in fine contrast, and accentuate the color, and the curving tips of the branches, with their delicate twigs and graceful outlines, give the trees great beauty.
The red maple is one of the very first trees to bloom in the early spring, and then its color is conspicuous, for, as Lowell says, it “crimsons to a coral reef.” The flowers are sweet scented, and the carrying of pollen is done on a wholesale plan over the tree by little, inconspicuous insects, which carry the pollen dust from flower to flower.
RED MAPLE
Acer rubrum
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TRUNK OF A YOUNG RED MAPLE
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In the autumn this tree is one of the first to turn, and its brilliant red leaves in the low swamp lands, beginning often the last of August or early September, invariably startle one with a swift premonition of winter. “How early the fall has come this year!” some one usually says, and no one realizes it is just the habit of early maturity peculiar to that particular red maple. It is a tree closely associated with Thoreau, for we read that he spent much time in extracting sugar from its sap, against the wishes of his more practical-minded father, who could not understand why his son should spend time and money over such an experiment, when he could buy better and cheaper sugar at the store.
The wood, although it is close-grained and firm, is not so much used as that of the sugar maple, owing to the fact that it decays when exposed to alternate moisture and dryness. There are several varieties of the wood. The curled maple, one of the most attractive, has wavy fibres which catch the light like watered silk, and it is much used in cabinet work. The sap is only half as rich in sugar as that of the sugar maple.
The Latin name, Acer rubrum,—red maple,—came from the Celtic word rub, signifying red.
White or Silver Maple Acer saccharinum
This tree is found growing wild in wet places throughout New England, and it is also often cultivated. The trunk is low and divided into spreading branches that form a spacious head. The branches sweep down and turn up with curving tips. Smooth, red buds like those of the red maple. It blossoms before the leaves are out, like the red maple.
It is always a delight to find this tree growing naturally where it has not been planted, for, owing to its habit of growing near flowing streams with clear, sandy bottoms, one rarely comes across it. It is a tree to look for on a canoeing trip, and when one discovers its long, drooping branches hanging over the stream, the feeling of isolation is complete; a silver maple on a river bank accentuates the sense of being in the country, just as the notes of the hermit thrush accentuate the sense of remoteness in the woods.
In winter there are two distinct characteristics by which one may distinguish the silver maple from the red which it closely resembles,—the curving tips of the lower branches which sweep down and curve up in a pronounced way unlike the red maple, and the manner in which the bark peels off from the old trunks, in long pieces which are free at either end and attached in the middle, while the bark of the red maple splits up and down the trunk without shagging in strips.
The wood of the silver maple is soft and perishable and is seldom used.
The former name of this tree was Acer dasycarpum, but it has been changed to Acer saccharinum, the old name for the sugar maple,—Acer saccharum.
SILVER MAPLE
Acer saccharinum
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It is found growing wild along river banks from New Brunswick to Florida, and it is frequently planted in cities and towns.
Striped Maple; Moosewood Acer pennsylvanicum
A small tree, with smooth green shoots and a light green bark striped with white. The leaf-scars are opposite, and encircle the stem, and are conspicuously ridged, with two raised lines above. Smooth bud-scales, silver white leaves folded within the bud.
The moosewood is a beautiful little tree at all times, but in winter when its large leaves have fallen and the wonderful coloring of its trunk and stems is no longer concealed by foliage, one can fully appreciate its color, delicate branches and smooth stems. The trunk is an exquisite shade of green, smooth, with occasional stripes of white, and the stems and buds are also smooth and a rich rose in color.
This tree is too small for practical use, but its æsthetic qualities should cause it to be more generally planted in our parks and gardens than it is.
The name moosewood was given to it by the country people in Maine, as the moose in the woods invariably strip it for the sweet juice in the tender young shoots in winter, when there is little for them to eat.
The Latin name Acer pennsylvanicum—Pennsylvanian maple—was given to it by Linnæus.
The moosewood is found throughout the North Atlantic States growing in rich woods under taller trees.
Mountain Maple Acer spicatum
This is a shrub about eight feet high, found commonly in the mountains and hills of New England, and like the moosewood seldom found growing out of the forest. It is easily distinguished by its gray bark and pink stems covered with a delicate gray bloom, and the clusters of dried fruit left hanging on the stems.
Acer spicatum—spiked maple—refers to the spike-like clusters of flowers.
Ash-leaved Maple; Box Elder Acer negundo
A small or medium-sized tree with yellowish green or reddish brown smooth stems and opposite V-shaped, narrow leaf-scars. The buds are gray and downy and covered with two pairs of scales.
This tree is found wild in Vermont and Pennsylvania, southward and westward in lowland woods, and is more or less cultivated throughout New England.
MOOSEWOOD MAPLE
Acer pennsylvanicum
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It is not long-lived and has small practical value, as the wood is not strong, and the sap yields only a small quantity of sugar.
The Latin name, negundo, is meaningless and its origin is unknown.
Norway Maple Acer platanoides
A tall tree, with a round head and closely fissured bark. The buds are large, round, and a dull reddish brown color. Coarse twigs and opposite leaf-scars. Distinctive characteristic is the white juice which comes after cutting off a bud.
It is particularly interesting to open the buds of this tree, and to see how carefully the leaves are protected. After removing the outer scales of the terminal bud with a knife, one discovers a pair of scales covered with soft brown hair as thick as sealskin fur and the same color. Within this warm covering there are still another pair of inner scales with fur a little darker and thicker than that of the first pair, and within these are the little leaves in embryo. In some buds one finds a tiny flower cluster instead, so small it can scarcely be seen, but perfect in every detail,—the most protected of flowers. A discovery like this makes one wonder if the dispensation of coverings is erratically bestowed, for why should we find a rugged, stalwart tree like the Norway maple with its buds luxuriously protected from the cold, while a slender, delicate tree like our moosewood has only a pair of scales for a bud-covering? There must be hidden vitality in the little moosewood, for in spring, when the leaves come out, they are as vigorous and beautiful as those of the Norway maple; perhaps, after all, it is just a matter of nationality; the Norway maple came from Europe and has kept the traditional custom of wearing warm clothing in winter, and the moosewood has lived without superfluous raiment, like an Indian in the woods.
Sugar has been made from the sap of the Norway maple, but it is produced in small quantity. The wood is easily worked, and is used in Europe for various small purposes.
Acer platanoides means platanus-like maple, and refers to an imaginary resemblance to the plane tree.
Sycamore Maple Acer pseudo-platanus
A tall tree, with a spacious head. The bark breaks off in thin plates. Coarser twigs than those of the other maples, leaf-scars opposite, and large round buds. Distinctive characteristic is its green buds, which are green all winter.
This is the “sycamore tree” of Europe, and it is found here commonly planted in gardens and along roadsides.
NORWAY MAPLE
Acer platanoides
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It is distinguished from all other maples in winter by its unvarying green buds, and the manner in which the bark of old trees breaks off in thin, small, square pieces.
It is a favorite Scotch tree and was much planted about old estates in Scotland. Over two hundred years ago, the powerful barons in the West of Scotland used these sycamores for hanging their enemies and refractory vassals on, and these trees were called dool, or grief trees. Loudon tells the romantic histories of several dool trees which were still standing in 1844.
The wood is used in Europe for toys and other small articles, and experiments have been made with the sap, and sugar has been obtained in small quantities.
The name pseudo-platanus—false plane—was given to it on account of a fancied resemblance to the plane tree.
SYCAMORE MAPLE
Acer pseudo-platanus
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Chapter IV
THE ASHES
1. Red Ash. 2. White Ash. 3. Black Ash. 4. European Ash.