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Acer saccharinum Silver maple Deciduous tree (1 Page of 5) The Acer saccharinum plant species is found in Eastern N. America - New Brunswick to Florida, west to Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. It is a member of the Aceraceae family. Common gardeners may know the plant as Silver maple. Some home gardeners know the variety as A. dasycarpum. A. eriocarpum. Cultivation | Propagation | General Uses Medicinal | Edible Uses Latin Name: Acer saccharinum Common Name: Silver maple Family: Aceraceae Author: L. Known Hazards: None known Mature Height: 30 Mature Width: 15 Habitat: Banks of rivers, usually in sandy soils[43, 82]. Trees are occasionally found in deep often submerged swamps[82].
Edible Uses: The sap contains sugar and can be used as a drink or be concentrated into a syrup by boiling off the water[4, 61, 82, 159]. The syrup is used as a sweetener on many foods. The yield is only half that of A. saccharum[2]. It is said to be sweeter and whiter than A. saccharum[183]. The sap can be harvested in the late winter, the flow is best on warm sunny days following a frost. The best sap production comes from cold-winter areas with continental climates.
Self-sown seedlings, gathered in early spring, are eaten fresh or dried for later use[177, 213].
Seeds - cooked. The wings are removed and the seeds boiled then eaten hot[213]. Good crops are produced nearly every year in the wild[229]. The seed is about 12mm long and is produced in small clusters[82].
Inner bark - cooked. It is dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickening in soups etc or mixed with cereals when making bread[105, 161, 177, 257].
For further Acer saccharinum gardening information click on one of the blue links below Cultivation | Propagation | General Uses Medicinal | Edible Uses
The information above has been supplied solely via the hard work and dedication of the team at 'Plants for a Future'. View their bibliography

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