Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Sapindales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Acer nigrum
FAMILY
Sapindaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Black Maple at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Acer nigrum
FAMILY
Aceraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (Gentry et al., 2013)
Acer saccharum var. nigrum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 115-01-006d:
Acer saccharum ssp. nigrum FAMILY Aceraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Saccharodendron nigrum
COMMON NAME:
Black Maple
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_725
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_acni5_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm090404_049
April Walker County GA
The Pocket on Pigeon Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm120506_562
May Rabun County GA
In cultivation
Fruits mature in autumn, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_acer_nigrum
May
The species name "nigrum" means black, probably referring to the bark, per The Native Maples of Georgia (Ware, 2003).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_acer_nigrum_11
May
Leaf lower surfaces densely pubescent, per The Native Maples of Georgia (Ware, 2003).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_acer_nigrum_12
May
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_acer_nigrum_2
May
Leaves mostly 3-lobed, rarely 5, with drooping edges (as if wilted), per The Native Maples of Georgia (Ware, 2003).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_acer_nigrum_4
May
Basal lobes smaller than Sugar Maple's, and sinuses comparatively shallow, per The Native Maples of Georgia (Ware, 2003).
)
Ron Lance rwl2189_a
August
Usually a prominent stipule at petiole base (vs. not in A. saccharum), per The Native Maples of Georgia (Ware, 2003).
COMPARE
leaves of Black, Chalk, Florida, Norway and Sugar Maple
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Acer nigrum
FAMILY
Sapindaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Acer nigrum
FAMILY
Aceraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (Gentry et al., 2013)
Acer saccharum var. nigrum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 115-01-006d:
Acer saccharum ssp. nigrum
FAMILY
Aceraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Saccharodendron nigrum
2189
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Riverbanks, streambanks, cove forests, river slope forests, especially over calcareous rocks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina & Georgia
Rare in GA & NC
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Does not have milky sap
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Greenish-yellow
Radially symmetrical
5-lobed campanulate calyx
Petals absent
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Schizocarp composed of two 1-seeded samaras
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p274
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p258
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p055
- The Sibley Guide to Trees (Sibley, 2009) p341
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p090
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p048
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