Black Maple
{{Taxobox
color = lightgreen | name = Black Maple | regnum = Plantae | divisio = Magnoliophyta | classis = Magnoliopsida | ordo = Sapindales | familia = Aceraceae | genus = Acer | species = A. nigrum | binomial = Acer nigrum | binomial_authority = F.Michx.
The Black Maple is a species of maple closely related to the Sugar Maple, and treated as a variety of it by some authors. Identification can be confusing due to the tendency of the two species to form hybrids. The simplest and most accurate method for distinguishing between the two trees is the 3-lobed leaves of the Black Maple versus the 5-lobed leaves of the Sugar Maple. The leaves of the Black Maple also tend to have a "droopy" appearance. Other differences that are not as pronounced include darker, more deeply grooved bark, slightly smaller seeds, and thicker leaf stems.
The geographic range of the Black Maple is slightly more limited than the Sugar Maple, encompassing much of the northeastern United States and the extreme southeast of Canada in southern Ontario.
Black Maple is used similarly to the Sugar Maple, for timber and for maple syrup production.
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