Introductory
SPECIES: Acer saccharum | Sugar Maple 



ABBREVIATION : 
ACESAC

SYNONYMS : 
NO-ENTRY


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   ACSA


COMMON NAMES : 
   sugar maple
   rock maple
   hard maple


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of sugar maple is Acer saccharum
Marsh.  Sugar maple is highly variable genetically and taxonomic
controversy abounds.  Some taxonomists recognize two to six varieties,
but others recognize these entities as forms or subspecies [30,68].
Several ecotypes or races, each exhibiting clinal variation, have also
been delineated [30].

Florida maple (A. barbatum), chalk maple (A. leucoderme), and black
maple (A. nigrum) hybridize and intergrade with sugar maple and are
often included in the sugar maple complex [27,46].  Some authorities
recognize these taxa as subspecies of sugar maple [46], but most
delineate them as discrete species.  Sugar maple hybridizes with red
maple (A. rubrum) in the field, and with bigleaf maple (A. macrophyllum)
under laboratory conditions [30].  Acer X senecaense Slavin is a hybrid
derived from an A. leucoderme x sugar maple cross [39].  A. skutchii is
closely related to sugar maple and is treated as a subspecies by some
taxonomists [46].


LIFE FORM : 
Tree

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
Sugar maple is listed as rare in South Dakota where it is at the western
edge of its range [35].


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
D. Tirmenstein, October, 1991


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Tirmenstein, D. A. 1991. Acer saccharum. In: Remainder of Citation

Related categories for Species: Acer saccharum | Sugar Maple