Taxon

Acer saccharum

 
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Acer saccharum - Sugar Maple
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Common name: Sugar Maple
Family: Sapindaceae (Soapberry)
Distribution: Que. to Fla. and Tex.
Hardiness: USDA Zone 3
Life form: Deciduous tree
Usage: Ornamental, Edible
Comments: In 1791 Thomas Jefferson and James Madison embarked on a month-long excursion to Lake Champlain through the heart of New England's sugar maple country. Jefferson, already inspired by a Philadelphia Quaker movement to abolish the West Indian slave-driven cane industry, envisioned a domestic sugar enterprise at home. Upon his return trip through Long Island, he purchased sixty trees from the William Prince Nursery. Although his attempts to tap them ultimately failed, a tree from that original planting survived at Monticello until 1992.

Locations

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