Identifying characteristics: The black maple
is a large, deciduous tree 60 to 80 ft in height with a dense, rounded crown
and a straight trunk up to 4 ft in diameter. It is very similar to the sugar
maple, with a few distinguishing characteristics: the leaves are usually
palmately 3-lobed with hairy lower leaf surfaces, the leaf blades are thicker
and characterisically drooping at the sides, twigs are orange-brown and
the bark is almost black and more deeply furrowed.
The leaves are simple, opposite,
with a few coarse teeth along the margins, dark green on the upper surface
and yellowish-green below. The fall color is yellow or brownish-yellow,
sometimes red, but less so than the sugar maple. The 3 to 5-inch petioles
often have leaf-like stipules at the base which obscure the lateral buds.
Clusters of small, yellow flowers are
produced in May at the base of newly-emerging leaves. The 0.5 to 1-inch-long
winged fruits are produced in
pairs. They mature and dry in late summer, sometimes separating when shed,
leaving the hairy stalk on the tree. Winter buds are egg-shaped,
with pointed tips and hairy, overlapping reddish-brown scales. Bark of black maples is dark gray with deeply
furrowed, irregular ridges. Bark is darker and more deeply furrowed than
that of the sugar maple.
Similar species:
Ecology: The black maple is native to the midwest and
parts of eastern North America, and now occupies much of the area covered
by ice during the last glacial period. It grows along river valleys, usually
on moist, sheltered, north and east-facing slopes. This species is susceptible
to Verticillium wilt, a common fungus disease that has caused the
deaths of more maples in the last 50 years than any other disease, and anthracnose
can cause defoliation.
Uses: Sugar
and black maple wood is sold as hard maple wood and ranks with oak
and black walnut in terms of commercial importance. The wood is hard, heavy,
strong and shock-resistant and used for flooring, furniture, cabinets, veneer,
musical instruments, bowling alleys and billiard cues. The sap is tapped
in late winter and boiled down to yield maple syrup. Wildlife like
deer browse the young growth and grouse eat the buds.
Planted in well-drained, fertile soil, the black maple is an ideal large
shade tree and is better suited to Iowa's hot, dry summers than is the sugar
maple. This species tolerates moister soils and grows more slowly when young
than sugar maple, and where their growing areas overlap, some hybridization
may occur between the species.
