The black maple (Acer nigrum or Acer saccharum Marsh. ssp. nigrum - no one can agree which Latin name is correct) falls into the latter category, overshadowed by its well-known cousin, the sugar maple (Acer saccharum). It’s a shame that this beautiful species is often overlooked, much like the bur oak, which is often snubbed for the more popular white oak. The two underdogs have a quiet rivalry with their better known kin -- picture two trees duking it out for a place in your backyard. Like Rocky Balboa, a promising champ just needs someone to believe in it.
Thankfully, foresters are in this tree species’ corner. They know black maple can be used interchangeably with other hardwood maple species for flooring, furniture, baseball bats and anything else that can be created with a beautiful piece of wood. That said, this species doesn’t often get full credit for its strength and utility, as these items are often sold with a general ‘maple’ label. You might think a tree would get bitter from this kind of treatment, but black maples are actually quite sweet – they are tapped for their sap as frequently as sugar maples, creating the same delicious syrup that you’d put on your pancakes.
Now I won’t lie to you, the first time I saw a black maple I thought it was a drought-stressed sugar maple. The leaves are almost identical – but those of the black maple have a longer petiole (stem) and a unique, almost fashionable, droop. On closer inspection you can tell the bark of the trees apart at maturity: a black maple is darker in colour with deeper furrows. And in the fall there is no way to mistake the black maple’s brilliant yellow-orange colour for the sugar maple’s green-to-orange-to-red gradient.
In an urban environment, the black maple thrives. While the sugar maple prefers clay or loam soil, the black maple is much less particular, and can be planted anywhere from sand to clay. It can handle moist to dry soils with ease, and grows naturally both around streams and on floodplains. And here’s another interesting fact: the black maple’s flowers are yellow in colour and appear in early spring to make all the cellophane (ground nesting) bees swoon.
So look out Apollo Creed! LEAF offers black maple as part of our Backyard Tree Planting Program, so if you want a “sweet” tree seldom found in the city, contact us today to book a consultation with one of our arborists!
Join me next month when I explore the black gum tree!
The Backyard Tree Planting Program is supported by Ontario Power Generation, York Region, Ontario Trillium Foundation, The City of Markham and Toronto Hydro.