Horticultural Value.—Hardy throughout New England. Its long life, noble proportions, beautiful foliage, dense shade, moderately rapid growth, usual freedom from disease or insect disfigurement, and adaptability to almost any soil not saturated with water make it a favorite in cultivation; readily obtainable in nurseries, transplants easily, recovers its vigor quickly, and has a nearly uniform habit of growth.
Note.—Not liable to be taken for any other native maple, but sometimes confounded with the cultivated Norway maple, Acer platanoides, from which it is easily distinguished by the milky juice which exudes from the broken petiole of the latter.
The leaves of the Norway maple are thinner, bright green and glabrous beneath, and its keys diverge in a straight line.
Plate LXXIII.—Acer saccharum.
| 1. Winter buds. |
| 2. Flowering branch. |
| 3. Sterile flower. |
| 4. Fertile flower, part of perianth and stamens removed. |
| 5. Fruiting branch. |