Acer saccharum – description, flowering period and general distribution in Tennessee. flowers bloom simultaneously with leaves

Acer saccharum – description, flowering period and general distribution in Tennessee. flowers close up

Acer saccharum – description, flowering period and general distribution in Tennessee. branches strewn with flowers

Acer saccharum – description, flowering period and general distribution in Tennessee. green leaf close-up

Acer saccharum – description, flowering period and general distribution in Tennessee. green branch

Acer saccharum – description, flowering period and general distribution in Tennessee. branch with seeds that ripen

Acer saccharum – description, flowering period and general distribution in Tennessee. green leaves change color

Scientific name:

Acer saccharum

Common name(s):

Sugar maple, Rock maple, Hard maple.

Life form:

Tree.

Flowering time:

7 - 10 days.

Flowering period

in Tennessee for this plant is: April ↔ June.

NECTAR PRODUCTION:
200 kilograms per ha

SOURCE FOR HONEY BEES:
Major

General distribution:

Sugar maple grows from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick westward to Ontario and Manitoba, southward through Minnesota, and eastern Kansas into northeastern Texas. It extends eastward to Georgia and northward through the Appalachian Mountains into New England. Local populations occur in northwestern South Carolina, northern Georgia, and northeastern South Dakota. Disjunct populations are known from the Wichita Mountains of southwestern Oklahoma.

Map of distribution and habitat in USA

This plant is present in at least 39 states/provinces in this country.

See The Map

Botanical description:

Sugar maple is a deciduous tree which reaches 90 to 120 feet (27-37 m) in height and 30 to 36 inches (76-91 cm) in d.b.h. Extremely large specimens have reached more than 130 feet (40 m) in height and more than 5 feet (1.5 m) in d.b.h. Sugar maple is long-lived and plants can survive for 300 to 400 years. The bark is light gray to gray-brown and becomes deeply furrowed and rough with age. Twigs are a shiny, reddish-brown. Sugar maple is relatively deep-rooted, with many extensively-branched laterals.

Sugar maple is monoecious or dioecious. Small, greenish-yellow flowers are borne in tassel-like clusters or racemes. Each drooping cluster contains 8 to 14 flowers. The fruit is a paired, papery-winged samara which averages 1 inch (2.5 cm) in length.

Seasonal development:

Growth initiation of sugar maple varies geographically. Flower buds generally begin to swell prior to the development of vegetative buds and generally emerge 1 to 2 weeks before the leaves appear. Male and female flowers mature at slightly different rates, which promotes cross-pollination. Fruit ripens approximately 12 to 16 weeks after the flowers appear. Fruit begins to fall approximately 2 weeks after ripening.

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List of honey plants that may be blooming now in Tennessee

See the entire list

Brassica napus (aka: Rapeseed)

Sinapis arvensis (aka: Charlock mustard, California rape, Charlock, Corn mustard, Canola, Kaber mustard, Rapeseed mustard)

Asclepias tuberosa (aka: Butterflyweed, Butterfly Milkweed, Orange Milkweed, Pleurisy Root, Chigger Flower, Canada root, Fluxroot, Indian paintbrush, Indian posy, Orange root, Orange Swallow-wort, Tuber root, Yellow milkweed, White-root, Windroot, Butterfly love)

Borago officinalis (aka: Borage, Starflower, Common borage, Cool-tankard, Tailwort)

Citrullus lanatus (aka: Watermelon)

Cirsium arvense (aka: Creeping Thistle, Canada thistle, Field thistle, California thistle, Lettuce from hell thistle, Corn thistle, Cursed thistle, Green thistle, Hard thistle, Perennial thistle, Prickly thistle, Small-flowered thistle, Way thistle, Stinger-needles)

Asteraceae (aka: Aster, Daisy, Composite)