Western sugar maple – description, flowering period and general distribution in Arizona. the plant has large leaves

Western sugar maple – description, flowering period and general distribution in Arizona. flowering plant

Western sugar maple – description, flowering period and general distribution in Arizona. flowers close up

Western sugar maple – description, flowering period and general distribution in Arizona. branch with green leaves and seeds in the rain

Western sugar maple – description, flowering period and general distribution in Arizona. plant grove in autumn, red leaves

Western sugar maple – description, flowering period and general distribution in Arizona. red leaves close-up

Common name:

Western sugar maple

Scientific name:

Acer grandidentatum.

Other common name(s):

Bigtooth maple, Canyon maple, Western sugar maple.

Life form:

Tree-shrub.

Flowering time:

15 - 20 days.

Flowering period

in Arizona for this plant is: April.

NECTAR PRODUCTION:
200 kilograms per ha

SOURCE FOR HONEY BEES:
Major

General distribution:

Bigtooth maple has a spotty distribution, occurring in mountainous areas from southeastern Idaho, south-central Montana and western Wyoming south to Arizona, New Mexico, south-central Texas, and northern Mexico. Disjunct populations occur along Lake Powell in Colorado, in the Virgin Mountains of Clark County, Nevada, and in the Wichita Mountains of southwestern Oklahoma.

Map of distribution and habitat in USA

This plant is present in at least 10 states/provinces in this country.

See The Map

Botanical description:

Bigtooth maple is a deciduous, small tree or shrub of variable size. Its life form is dependent upon the moisture regime. In canyon bottoms and along streams it grows like a tree with single or multiple trunks reaching 50 feet (15 m) tall and 1 foot (30 cm) in diameter, while on dry canyon slopes it grows as a shrub with 2 or more stems reaching 26 feet (8 m) tall.

Bigtooth maple leaves are palmately lobed, 1 to 4 inches (2.5-10 cm) wide, and pubescent beneath. Plants usually flower every 2 or 3 years. Flowers are umbellate or corymbose and have no petals. The fruit is a dry, indehiscent, double-winged samara, each side with 1 small seed 0.16 to 0.20 inch long. The ovary and young fruit have long, straight hairs. Twigs are glabrous and the bark is thin and smooth or flaky. Bigtooth maple has both lateral surface roots and a deep taproot. An extensive root system develops during the first growing season. Reproduction by the layering of the lower branches extends the root system radially.

Seasonal development:

Bigtooth maple seeds germinate and cotyledons of new plants emerge in April and May. Throughout much of the range of bigtooth maple, new leaves and flowers appear at the same time in April and May.

Average rating 4.4/5 based on 19 reviews.

You can share information about this plant with your friends in your Facebook feed.

List of honey plants that may be blooming now in Arizona

See the entire list