Silver maple and red maple sap have around 1.5% sugar, while ashleaf maple has only 1%. The sap of black maple has a sugar content close to that of sugar maple’s, and is also tapped commercially. Furthermore, black maple has fine hairs across the lower leaf surface that give it a velvety feel, and the base of the leaf stalk displays distinctive stipules. It can be distinguished by its more shallowly lobed leaves and drooping leaf edges. nigrum) is very similar in appearance to sugar maple, and the two species even hybridize! In fact, there is some debate about whether they should be considered separate species at all. Another option is to identify the trees when leaves are out, mark their location, and return to tap them the following spring.īlack maple ( A. Learning to identify maples in the winter is important, as the sugaring season starts before leaves appear (around here in Minneapolis usually in March.) As such, becoming familiar with the bark and winter buds will help you distinguish maples from other trees, as well as maple species from each other. platanoides) should be avoided because it produces cloudy sap. According to Modern Maple, Norway maple ( A. Most species of maples can be tapped for syrup-even ashleaf maple or box elder ( Acer negundo)! You will probably just have to boil the sap longer, and the resulting product may be a bit different than what you’d expect. While maple syrup from any source is delicious, learning to tap trees is a highly rewarding seasonal activity, and I encourage you to try it! But just because it’s readily found at a store doesn’t mean that its origins aren’t wild. People don’t often think of maple trees as wild edibles, but I beg to differ! Maple syrup and related goods are one of the most commercially available wild food products in North America, probably the most commercially available.
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