Low riskEdible
Sugar maple
Acer saccharum
Five-lobed leaf, sharp brown buds, the tap tree of a Dearborn winter.
- Marks
- U sinuses; sharp buds; plated bark
- Size
- 60–90 ft
- Habitat
- North slopes and rich coves.
- Season
- Tap mid-February–March when nights freeze and days thaw.
- Frequency
- common
Opposite simple leaves with U-shaped sinuses (not the V of red maple). Bark becomes plated with age. Samaras are U-shaped.
Uses
Sap to syrup (~40:1 boil). Hard maple firewood — the winter heater. Furniture wood.
Lookalikes
Red maple
Acer rubrum
V-shaped leaf sinuses, red buds and twigs. Sap is thinner than sugar maple.
CautionEdible