I'm selling over 600 + kinds of seeds ( and also live plants during the warmer months ) so check my other auctions . 

You are bidding on 20 SILVER MAPLE SEEDS - Acer saccharinum .

This is a medium-sized tree common in the Eastern United States where it is also called soft maple, river maple, silverleaf maple, swamp maple, water maple, and white maple. It is found on stream banks, flood plains, and lake edges where it grows best on better-drained, moist alluvial soils. Growth is rapid in both pure and mixed stands and the tree may live 130 years or more. 

Silver is definitely the right word to describe this maple. With even a light wind, the tree produces a lovely shimmery effect thanks to the silvery undersides of its leaves. The bark, too, is silver in color, particularly when the tree is young. 

The winged seeds are the largest of any of the native maple. They are produced in great abundance annually, providing many birds and small mammals with food. An attractive tree with delicate and graceful foliage, silver maple is often planted as an ornamental.

Zone: 3 to 9

Height: 50 to 80 feet

Spread: 35 to 70 feet

Bloom Time: March - seeds drop in early May

Sun: Full sun to part shade

Water: Medium to wet

Medicinal use of Silver Maple: An infusion of the bark is used in the treatment of coughs, cramps and dysentery. The infusion is also applied externally to old, stubborn running sores. A compound infusion is used in the treatment of "female complaints". The inner bark is boiled and used with water as a wash for sore eyes. An infusion is used internally in the treatment of diarrhea. An infusion of the root bark has been used in the treatment of gonorrhea.

Edible parts of Silver Maple: The sap contains sugar and can be used as a drink or be concentrated into a syrup by boiling off the water. The syrup is used as a sweetener on many foods. The yield is only half that of A. saccharum. It is said to be sweeter and whiter than A. saccharum. The sap can be harvested in the late winter, the flow is best on warm sunny days following a frost. The best sap production comes from cold-winter areas with continental climates. Self-sown seedlings, gathered in early spring, are eaten fresh or dried for later use. Seeds - cooked. The wings are removed and the seeds boiled then eaten hot. Good crops are produced nearly every year in the wild. The seed is about 12 mm long and is produced in small clusters. Inner bark - cooked. It is dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickening in soups etc or mixed with cereals when making bread.

Other uses : The leaves are packed around apples, root crops etc to help preserve them. A fairly wind-tolerant tree, it can be used in shelter belt plantings. The branches are rather brittle, however, and can break off even in minor storms. The stems are used in making baskets. The boiled inner bark yields a brown dye. Mixed with lead sulphate this produces a blue/black dye which can also be used as an ink. A black dye is obtained from the twigs and bark. The bark can be boiled, along with hemlock (Tsuga spp) and swamp oak bark (Quercus bicolor) to make a wash to remove rust from iron and steel, and to prevent further rusting. Wood - rather brittle, close-grained, hard, strong, easily worked but not durable. It weighs 32 lb per cubic meter. It has many uses such as veneer, cooperage, furniture, flooring and pulp.

See my store for 600+ seeds , live plants ( during the warmer months ) and over 300+ books on plants and gardening . I add new items every day and combine shipping whenever possible .