South Dakota Maples—Sugar, Silver, & a Trickster

Sugar Maple in Sica Hollow, northeasternmost South Dakota.

For April's tree-following report I'm sticking with my strategy of following (learning about) South Dakota trees—helpful in preparing our guide to trees and shrubs of the state. This month I chose maples, of which there are three.

South Dakota is not known for its trees. It's largely a prairie state, though much of what was prairie is now fields of corn, wheat, soybeans, hay, sunflowers and more. Most people who visit (i.e., tourists) ...