Acer nigrum
The Black Maple or Acer nigrum belongs to the Aceracae family. It is often used as a
shade tree because of the tall, dense crown it gets when grown in the open. Its leaves
are usually large, palmate, 3-lobed, and 4-5 1/2 in. long and wide. Also, the black
maple's leaves are opposite and the lobes of the leaves are long and pointed. In the
fall these leaves change from green to different colors from bright yellow to
crimson. The black maple's leaves are very beautiful in the fall.
The black maple can get pretty big. It can reach a height of 80 to 100 feet and its trunk's
diameter can be anywhere from 3 to 4 feet. Black Maple gets its name from its bark which
is a dark gray or black color and deeply furrowed. The wood of the black maple is hard,
so it is considered a hardwood tree. This wood, along with being hard, is very heavy,
weighing 43 lbs to the cubic foot. The black maple is also a very long lived tree. It
grows slow and can live to be 300 to 400 years old. You can find black maples in Iowa,
Missouri, Illinois (the tree is native here), Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky,
Pennsylvania, and New York. You can also find it in small portions of Ontario, Quebec,
Wisconsin, and Michigan.
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