À. saccharìnum.
6. Àcer saccharìnum, Wang. (Sugar or Rock Maple.) Leaves deeply 3- to 5-lobed, with rounded notches; lobes acute, few-toothed; base heart-shaped, smooth above, glaucous beneath. Flowers hanging in umbel-like clusters at the time the leaves are expanding in the spring. Fruit with wings not quite forming a right angle. A large (50 to 100 ft. high), very symmetrical tree, ovate in form, with whitish-brown twigs. Wild throughout, and extensively cultivated in the streets of cities.
Var. nigrum, Torr. and Gray. (Black Sugar-maple.) Leaves scarcely paler beneath, but often minutely downy; lobes wider, often shorter and entire; notch at the base often closed (the under leaf in the figure). Found with the other Sugar-maple, and quite variable.
À. macrophýllum.
7. Àcer macrophýllum, Ph. (Large-leaved or California Maple.) Leaves very large, 8 to 10 in. broad; 5-, sometimes 7-lobed, with deep, rounded notches; lobes themselves somewhat 3-lobed and repand-notched; pubescent beneath. Flowers yellow, in erect panicles, fragrant, blooming after the leaves are expanded. Fruit large, with the seeded portion hairy; wings at about a right angle. Tree very large (100 ft. high); wood soft, whitish, beautifully veined. Twigs brown; buds green. Cultivated; from the Pacific coast, but not hardy north of 40° N. latitude.
À. platanoìdes.
8. Àcer platanoìdes, L. (Norway Maple.) Leaves large, smooth, 5-, rarely 7-cleft, with cordate base; lobes acute, with few coarse, sharp teeth, bright green both sides. The leaves resemble those of the Sycamore (Platanus). Flowers a little later than the leaves in spring, in stalked corymbs, less drooping than the Sugar-maple (No. 6). Fruit with wings diverging in a straight line. A medium-sized, broad, rounded tree with brown twigs and milky juice, best seen at the bases of the young leaves. Cultivated throughout.
