D1296: Acer macrophyllum

The sap from this tree contains a certain amount of sugar and can be used as a drink, or can be concentrated into a syrup by boiling off the water.

Bigleaf maple can be found west of British Columbia's Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range, from Vancouver Island to California. Insects fertilize the tree's flowers. The winged fruits are eaten by squirrels, and by grosbeaks in the winter. Deer mice have been observed consuming bigleaf maple seeds in the spring in the Sierra Nevada. The foliage is browsed by ungulates such as black-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and horses, as well as by mountain beavers and other rodents. A western Oregon study found that 60% of bigleaf maple seedlings over 25 cm (10 in) tall had been browsed by deer, most several times. Identified as an English Champion tree in 2018