Wood: The
sugar maple is an important timber tree, producing very hard, strong, close-grained,
durable wood that is shock-resistant and takes a beautiful polish. It is
used for furniture, cabinets, flooring, veneer, toys, plywood, cutting blocks
and musical instruments. This species is the source of "curly maple"
and "bird's eye" wood used for the backs of violins and gunstocks
because of the attractive, striped pattern. This species is commercially
grown as a source of maple syrup. 32 gallons of sap are required to produce
1 gallon of syrup, with each tree providing between 5 and 40 gallons of
sap per year. Maple syrup, like honey, contains bone-building phosphates
that aid calcium retention in the body.
Wildlife: The sugar maple is important to wildlife. The seeds, buds, twigs, bark and flowers provide food for a variety of birds and animals. Chipmunks, squirrels and other small mammals store caches of the seeds for winter. Deer browse the twigs, buds and leaves. Porcupines and squirrels eat the twigs and often girdle the trees by eating the bark.
Horticulture: This species is an important large, ornamental shade tree used in areas where the soil is well-drained and fertile. 'Moraine' is a fast-growing, conical cultivar resistant to leaf scorch and frost cracking. 'Wright Brothers' is hardy to minus 25 degrees F, and is also resistant to leaf scorch and frost cracking. 'Newton Sentry' is a cultivar with a columnar habit, more suited to smaller sites.
