Sugar maple, the state tree of four states
The sugar maple is the state tree of four states, more than any other single species: Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin all adopted it in 1949, and New York followed in 1956. It is the main source of maple syrup and one of the stars of the northern fall, its leaves turning brilliant red, orange and yellow. Schoolchildren voted for it in both Wisconsin and West Virginia.
The 4 states
| State | Designation | Name in state law | Adopted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | State tree | Sugar maple1 V.S.A. § 499 | 1949 |
| Wisconsin | State tree | Sugar mapleCh. 218, Laws of 1949; Wis. Stat. § 1.10(3)(c) | 1949 |
| West Virginia | State tree | Sugar mapleHouse Concurrent Resolution No. 12 (1949) | 1949 |
| New York | State tree | Sugar mapleN.Y. State Law § 76 | 1956 |
Four states
The sugar maple is the most popular single species of state tree. In 1949 three states adopted it. West Virginia’s schoolchildren and civic groups chose it in a statewide vote, the same vote that picked the cardinal. Wisconsin’s schoolchildren had first voted for the maple in 1893, ahead of the oak, the pine and the elm, and a 1948 student vote put it first again; the Legislature adopted it in 1949 despite a push for the white pine. Vermont named it the same year. New York followed in 1956.
Syrup and color
The sugar maple is the main source of maple syrup and sugar. Its sap averages about 2.5 percent sugar, and it takes about 34 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. Vermont makes the connection official: its state flavor, adopted in 1994, is maple from the Vermont sugar maple. The tree’s hard wood is also valued for furniture and firewood.
How to recognize it
The sugar maple is a large hardwood, maturing at about 80 to 120 feet tall, with a dense, rounded crown, and it can live 300 to 400 years. Its leaves grow in opposite pairs, 3 to 6 inches long, with five lobes, and turn brilliant red, orange or yellow in fall. The bark becomes gray and deeply furrowed with age, and the fruit is a pair of winged seeds, horseshoe-shaped, that drifts down in fall.
Questions people ask
- Which states have the sugar maple as state tree?
- Four - New York, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
- How much sap does it take to make maple syrup?
- About 34 gallons of sugar maple sap make one gallon of syrup; the sap averages about 2.5 percent sugar.
- How long do sugar maples live?
- They can live 300 to 400 years.
- Is maple an official flavor anywhere?
- Yes. Vermont named maple, specifically from the Vermont sugar maple, its official state flavor in 1994.
Sources
- Sugar maple (Silvics of North America) USDA Forest Service
- Vermont Statutes Online, Title 1, Chapter 11: Flag, Insignia, Seal, etc. Vermont General Assembly
- Wisconsin State Symbols (Wisconsin Blue Book 2007-2008, pp. 962-966) Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau
- Official State Symbols of West Virginia West Virginia Legislature
- New York State Emblems New York State Library