Sugar Maple
The Sugar Maple is a stunning tree with dazzling fall leaves and is the best source of sap for maple syrup.
Scientific Name: Acer saccharum
Common Name: Sugar Maple
Plant Family: Sapindaceae (Soapberry Family)
Etymology: Acer is a Latin word meaning “sharp,” in reference to the tree’s leaves. Saccharum comes from the Latin word succarum which means “sugar,” describing the quality of the tree’s sap.
Indigenous Uses
Common among all Native American tribes with access to sugar maple was using it as some form of sweetener, either maple sugar or maple syrup. The Chippewa tribe traded maple sugar as a commodity. The Iroquois fermented maple sugar to make beer and made bread out of the bark by pounding and sifting it into flour. Some tribes used maple sugar like a seasoning, replacing salt. Ojibwa and Potawatomi made vinegar out of the sap for use in cooking meats sweet and sour style, using maple sugar as the sweetener. Some tribes used an infusion of inner bark used for sore eyes and cough.
Edible Parts
The main attraction to the Sugar Maple is its sap, which is processed into sugar or syrup. The inner bark is edible. The seeds may be eaten raw or roasted or ground into flour.
Gathering and Using
American Indians tapped the trees by chopping a V into the bark and collecting the sap in birch bark basket. Today, sap is collected by drilling a hole into the bark of the tree then hammering in a tap. A bucket is hung on the tap to collect the dripping sap.
Permaculture Functions and Considerations
Edible sap, medicine, hardwood lumber, nectary, source of biomass (leaves), shade, accumulates calcium and potassium in soil.
Habitat
Sugar Maples are commonly found in northeastern American forests.
How to Identify
- Grows in the east states alongside Red Maple. The tree is upright, medium-large, with an oval silhouette. Dense branches. Turns red and flowers after Red Maple in the fall.
- Grows 80-110ft tall, deciduous, palmate leaves, forking stems
- Seeds, known as keys, are winged and form in clusters. They spin like helicopters when they fall.
- Vertical fissures in bark in mature trees.
Wildlife Support
Vast canopy provides opportunities for bird nesting. Flowers feed insects.
Additional Information
- Hardwood, difficult to work with, but pretty.
Sources
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Moerman, Daniel E. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, Inc, 1998.
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Jacke, Dave. Edible Forest Gardens Vol. 2. Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 2005.
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Salmon, Enrique. Iwigara. Timber Press, Inc, 2020
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Johnson, Hugh. Encyclopedia of Trees. Portland House, 1990