The
leaves of a sugar maple tree are simple. They are generally
five lobes, although there are some that have only three or
four. The leaves are a dark green on the top and paler on
the bottom. The leaves of sugar maple trees are generally
three to five inches long, and have three primary veins running
down the three large lobes. The gaps between the lobes are
smooth and shallow, distinguishing the sugar maple trees from
the closely related red maple tree, which has serrated gaps.
Sugar
maple trees have slender twigs of a shiny reddish-brown color
and have a white pith. Lenticels cover the twigs. The bark
of a young sugar maple tree is dark gray, but ages to a dark
brown. The bark develops rough vertical grooves and ridges,
which will peel along the side when mid-aged, and then peel
from the top or bottom at maturity.
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range of sugar maple trees in North America extends from Nova
Scotia west to Ontario, south to Missouri, and east to Tennessee
and northern Georgia. They are most common in New England
and the Great lake states. The average temperature that will
suffice for sugar maple trees is zero to fifty during January,
and sixty to eighty for July. Sugar maple trees will live
in a wide variety of soils, but prefer deep, moist, and well-drained
soil.
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