With its playful yet classic habit, the ‘Temple’s Upright’ columnar sugar maple(Acer saccharum) is the narrowest of the columnars, allowing this pollution-tolerant native tree to be inserted where space is at a premium, enjoying its now iconic autumn color while creating a highly graphic landscape.

Its sweet, mineralizing sap can be harvested by tapping, a simple operation steeped in tradition. However, it was not until several decades later that it matured enough to be notched. In the meantime, discover its tender, edible leaves, which can be pickled and stuffed like grape leaves.