Winter Buds and Leaves.—Flower-buds clustered near the ends of the branchlets, conspicuous in winter; scales imbricated, convex, polished, reddish, with ciliate margins; leaf-buds more slender, about ⅛ inch long, with similar scales, the inner lengthening, falling as the leaf expands. Leaves simple, opposite, 3-5 inches long, of varying width, light green above, silvery-white beneath, turning yellow in autumn; lobes 3, or more usually 5, deeply cut, sharp-toothed, sharp-pointed, more or less sublobed; sinuses deep, narrow, with concave sides; base sub-heart-shaped or truncate; stems long.
Inflorescence.—March to April. Much preceding the leaves; from short branchlets of the previous year, in simple, crowded umbels; flowers rarely perfect, the sterile and fertile sometimes on the same tree and sometimes on different trees, generally in separate clusters, yellowish-green or sometimes pinkish; calyx 5-notched, wholly included in bud-scales; petals none; sterile flowers long, stamens 3-7 much exserted, filaments slender, ovary abortive or none: fertile flowers broad, stamens about the length of calyx-tube, ovary woolly, with two styles scarcely united at the base.
Fruit.—Fruit ripens in June, earliest of the New England maples. Keys large, woolly when young, at length smooth, widely divergent, scythe-shaped or straight, yellowish-green, one key often aborted.
Horticultural Value.—Hardy in cultivation throughout New England. The grace of its branches, the beauty of its foliage, and its rapid growth make it a favorite ornamental tree. It attains its finest development when planted by the margin of pond or stream where its roots can reach water, but it grows well in any good soil. Easily transplanted, and more readily obtainable at a low price than any other tree in general use for street or ornamental purposes. The branches are easily broken by wind and ice, and the roots fill the ground for a long distance and exhaust its fertility.
Plate LXXII.—Acer saccharinum.
| 1. Leaf-buds. |
| 2. Flower-buds. |
| 3. Branch with sterile flowers. |
| 4. Branch with fertile flowers. |
| 5. Branch with sterile and fertile flowers. |
| 6. Sterile flower. |
| 7. Fertile flower. |
| 8. Perfect flower. |
| 9. Fruiting branch. |