Acer saccharum, the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae.

[citation needed] The leaves are deciduous, up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long and wide,[8] palmate, with five lobes and borne in opposite pairs.

Germination of A. saccharum is slow, not taking place until the following spring when the soil has warmed and all frost danger is past.

[12][need quotation to verify] It is closely related to the black maple, which is sometimes included in this species, but sometimes separated as Acer nigrum.

[17][18] The sugar maple is an extremely important species to the ecology of many forests in the northern United States and Canada.

Due to its need for cold winters, sugar maple is mostly found north of the 42nd parallel in USDA growing zones 3–5.

It is less common in the southern part of its range (USDA Zone 6) where summers are hot and humid; there sugar maple is confined to ravines and moist flatlands.

Sugar maple is native to areas with cooler climates and requires a hard freeze each winter for proper dormancy.

[19] Seed germination also requires extremely low temperatures, the optimal being just slightly above freezing, and no other known tree species has this property.

In addition, Norway maple produces much larger crops of seeds, allowing it to out-compete native species.

[24] In maple syrup production from Acer saccharum, the sap is extracted from the trees using a tap placed into a hole drilled through the phloem, just inside the bark.

In the southern part of their range, sugar maples produce little sap; syrup production is dependent on the tree growing in cooler climates.

Trees with wavy wood grain, which can occur in curly, quilted, and "birdseye maple" forms, are especially valued.

It is also widely used in the manufacture of musical instruments, such as the members of the violin family (sides and back), guitars (neck), grand pianos (rim), and drum shells.

[citation needed][29] Canadian hardrock maple is also used in the manufacture of electric guitar necks due to its high torsional stability and the bright, crisp resonant tone it produces.

Sugar maple was a favourite street and park tree during the 19th century because it was easy to propagate and transplant, is fairly fast-growing, and has beautiful autumn colour.

As noted above, however, it proved too delicate to continue in that role after the rise of automobile-induced pollution and was replaced by Norway maple and other hardier species.

Deep, well-drained loam is the best rooting medium, although sugar maples can grow well on sandy soil which has a good buildup of humus.

[31] The Mohegan use the inner bark as a cough remedy, and the sap as a sweetening agent, and to make maple syrup following the introduction of metal cookware by Europeans.