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Photographer: Robert W. Freckmann
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Family Aceraceae
Acer saccharum Marshall var. saccharum
hard maple, sugar maple
Acer: the classical Latin name for the maple
saccharum: sweet
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| Status: | Native |
| Plant: | perennial tree usually 40'-60' tall and 1'-2' in diameter; watery juice; bark grayish to dark brown with loose plates making vertical ridges and grooves |
| Flower: | yellowish, blooming April-June when first leaves on drooping, hairy stalk in clusters (umbels) either terminal or from uppermost buds |
| Fruit: | smooth; seed sections at right angles; wings curving forward  , |
| Leaf: | opposite, about as long as wide, mostly hairless below but paler green; undivided but with usually 5 lobes, indentations (sinuses) between main lobes rounded; edges and tip usually flat |
| Habitat: | mostly dry, rich woods usually in limy soil |
| (Glossary) |
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