Sugar Maple Tree Facts for Kids

A Picture of a Sugar Maple Tree
  • Common Name: Sugar Maple Tree
  • Scientific Name: Acer saccharum
  • Genus: Acer
  • Family: Sapindaceae
  • Order: Sapindales
  • Distribution: Parts of North America

16 Sugar Maple Tree Facts for Kids

  1. The sugar maple tree is a medium to large tree species that is a member of the Acer genus.
  2. The sugar maple tree is one of about 128 species in the Acer genus.
  3. The scientific species name for the sugar maple tree is Acer saccharum.
  4. The sugar maple tree is a hardwood deciduous tree, which means it sheds its leaves annually.
  5. The sugar maple tree is native to the northeastern part of the United States and parts of Canada.
  6. The sugar maple tree is most well-known for its beautiful leaf colors during the autumn months.
  7. The sugar maple tree is also known for being the main source of maple syrup products.
  8. The average length and width of a leaf on a mature sugar maple tree is between 7 and 9 inches.
  9. As the season changes from summer to fall, sugar maple leaves change into a wide variety of colors.
  10. The order of the color change for sugar maple leaves is green, yellow, orange, red and finally dark purple.
  11. The average height of a mature sugar maple tree is between 80 and 115 feet. However, in favorable growing conditions they can reach a height greater than 140 feet.
  12. The lifespan of a sugar maple tree is estimated to be between 200 and 300 years.
  13. Sap can begin to be harvested from a sugar maple tree when it reaches between 30 and 40 years old.
  14. The average sugar maple tree produces around 3 gallons of sap daily and between 9 and 14 gallons per season.
  15. It takes about 40 gallons of sugar maple tree sap to produce one gallon of pure maple syrup.
  16. A common myth is the leaf on the Canadian flag is a sugar maple leaf. However, the leaf isn’t a replica of any specific maple leaf species but does closely resemble the leaf of a sugar maple tree.

Additional Resources on the Sugar Maple Tree

About the author
Facts Editor

This is an author profile for articles that are created from a collaborative effort. It is not uncommon that articles on this site were either written, researched or fact checked by several authors and team members. So this author profile will be displayed to reflect that. Our team of editors, writers and fact checkers do extensive research before publishing articles on the site, and we do our best to provide the most accurate information possible.