Acer saccharum nigrum

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Acer saccharum
Light:Full Sun Part Shade
Moisture:Mesic
Hardiness:3
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Height:82'
Speed:Slow
Blooms:Mid Spring
Native to:
Edible Rating:PFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating:PFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal Rating
Tea:Yes

Acer saccharum nigrum (common name: black maple)

Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, it usually germinates in the following spring. A lot of the seed is non-viable, it is best to cut a few open to see if there is an embryo[1]. An average of 95% germination can be achieved from viable seed[2]. Pre-soak stored seed for 24 hours and then stratify for 2 - 4 months at 1 - 8°c. It can be slow to germinate, sometimes taking two years[3]. The seed can be harvested 'green' (when it has fully developed but before it has dried and produced any germination inhibitors) and sown immediately. It should germinate in late winter. If the seed is harvested too soon it will produce very weak plants or no plants at all[4][1]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on until they are 20cm or more tall before planting them out in their permanent positions.

Layering, which takes about 12 months, is successful with most species in this genus.

Cuttings of young shoots in June or July. The cuttings should have 2 - 3 pairs of leaves, plus one pair of buds at the base. Remove a very thin slice of bark at the base of the cutting, rooting is improved if a rooting hormone is used. The rooted cuttings must show new growth during the summer before being potted up otherwise they are unlikely to survive the winter.

Cultivation: Of easy cultivation, it prefers a good moist well-drained soil but succeeds on most soils[5][2]. Chlorosis can often develop as a result of iron deficiency when the plants are grown in alkaline soils, but in general maples are not fussy as to soil pH. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Trees need full light and a lot of space[2].

Plants are hardy to about -45°c when fully dormant[6].

This species is not a great success in Britain[7], though it does better than once thought[5]. It grows well in Cornwall[8]. Slow growing when young[5]. Plants produce prodigious root growth but very little top growth in first year from seed[9]. Trees grow rapidly for their first 25 years in the wild, but then slow down and only occasionally surviving for more than 200 years[10].

A very ornamental tree[7] but a bad companion plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants[11][12].

This species is commercially exploited in America for its sap[7][5]. Along with A. saccharum and the sub-species A. s. grandidentatum it is the major source of maple syrup[5]. There are some named varieties[13]. The sap can be tapped within 10 - 15 years from seed but it does not flow so well in areas with mild winters[6].

Range: Eastern N. America - Quebec to Alabama, west to South Dakota and Arkansas.

Habitat: Rich calcareous or alluvial woods[14]. Found in a variety of soil types, near streams, rivers and in rich woodlands, usually below 750 metres but up to 1650 metres in the south of its range[10].

Edibility: The sap contains reasonable quantities of sugar and can be used as a drink or concentrated into a syrup by boiling off the water[7][15][5][14][16][17][18][19]. The syrup is used as a sweetener on many foods. The sap can be harvested in late winter or early spring[[18], the flow is best on a warm sunny day after a frost. Trees on southern slopes in sandy soils give the best yields. It is best to make a hole about 7cm deep and about 1.3 metres above the ground[20]. Yields of 40 - 100 litres per tree can be obtained[18]. The best sap production comes from cold-winter areas with continental climates.

Seed - boiled then roasted[21][22][19]. The seed is about 6mm long and is produced in small clusters[23].

Inner bark - cooked. It is dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickening in soups etc or mixed with cereals when making bread[22][24].

Medicinal: A decoction of the inner bark has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea[25].

Usage: The leaves are packed around apples, rootcrops etc to help preserve them[11][12].

Wood - close grained, tough, hard, heavy. Used for furniture, ship building, etc[14][26][27][23][20]. It is a good fuel[23].

Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.

Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.

Seed Ripens: Mid Fall

Flower Type: Monoecious

Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.

Also Known As: A. nigrum. Michx.f.

Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Gordon, A and D Rowe. Seed Manual for Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. 1982.
  3. ↑ Royal Horticultural Society. The Plantsman Vol. 5. 1983 - 1984. Royal Horticultural Society, 1983.
  4. ↑ McMillan-Browse, Philip. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books, 1985.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Natural Food Institute. Wonder Crops 1987.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
  8. ↑ Thurston, Edgar. Trees and Shrubs in Cornwall. Cambridge University Press, 1930.
  9. ↑ Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 1. Thompson and Morgan, 1987.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Philbrick, Helen and Richard Gregg. Companion Plants. Watkins, 1979.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Riotte, Louise. Carrots Love Tomatoes. Garden Way, 1978.
  13. ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
  15. ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
  16. ↑ Nicholson, Barbara and Stephen Harrison. The Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press, 1975.
  17. ↑ Schery. Robert. Plants for Man. Prentice Hall, 1972.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Brouk, Bohuslav. Plants Consumed by Man. Academic Press, 1975.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.
  21. ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
  24. ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
  25. ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
  26. ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
  27. ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.


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