Vermont is the most prolific maple-syrup state in the country, but we’ve got our own cache of sugar maples here in the Blackstone Parks.
One specimen can be viewed along the Boulevard just south of Rochambeau, east of the path.
Maple syrup production begins about now and runs into April. Warm days and freezing nights force the sap to flow into buckets “tapped” into trunks. Sugary sap also drips from any broken or cut branches, as can be seen now in some of the Boulevard maples.
Beyond maple syrup, the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is known for stunning yellow/orange/red fall foliage. The maple’s mature height is 100 feet; its lifespan is up to three centuries. The plump “whirligig” seeds ripen in fall.
Those “winged” seeds are the ones kids spread and stick onto their noses. They’re sticky, but not as sticky as maple syrup spilled onto your blue jeans.
Betsy Shea-Taylor
