Tree-dimensional Tacoma: Bigleaf Maple

“The best word to describe the bigleaf maple, Acer macrophyllum, at the corner of North Junett and North 19th is “awesome,” says Sarah Low, executive director of the Tacoma Tree Foundation. “Bigleaf maples are one of the most important native trees in the Pacific Northwest. It was one of the big trees found in old growth forests that once covered much of this region. These trees need space and the stewards of this tree on North Junett Street have given the tree room to grow.”

This North Tacoma bigleaf maple is this week’s Tree-dimensional Tacoma, Peaks & Pints’ weekly Tacoma tree column. Inspired by our house beer, Kulshan Brewing Tree-dimensional IPA, Peaks & Pints branches out for a weekly look at terrific trees of Tacoma, in conjunction with our friends at Tacoma Tree Foundation.

“I think this tree should win an award for the spread of its canopy,” Low continues. “Its leaves shade the entire adjacent intersection, which besides being impressive also extends the life of the asphalt by blocking sunlight and reducing surface temperatures. The relationship between canopy and reduced temperatures is really important because it is associated with so many other benefits including improved human health outcomes. We don’t need special equipment to recognize the value of shade; we can simply go out on a hot day and stand under the shade of a tree like this bigleaf maple and experience the cooler temperatures for ourselves.”

Check out this bigleaf maple, and then travel several blocks for a growler fill of Tree-dimensional IPA (6.8%) at Peaks & Pints. Kulshan Brewing collaborated with the Tacoma craft beer lodge on their house beer. Paying homage to the outdoor enthusiasts who join Peaks daily in Tacoma’s Proctor District, Tree-dimensional IPA is the perfect beer to toast the powder, currents or trails, as well as reveal the sprains. Tree-dimensional IPA, or Tree-D, continues Peaks & Pints’ love affair with old school piney IPAs, this time brewed with Simcoe, Idaho 7, CTZ, Centennial, and whole leaf Cascade in the hop back for all the pine, a little citrus, with a creamy mouthfeel and bitter finish.

Tacoma Tree Foundation is dedicated to educating, empowering, and supporting community members in neighborhood-based greening. In other words, the Tacoma organization strives for a greener, healthier, more connected Tacoma — which plants well with Peaks and Pints. We will host TTF fundraisers during Tree-dimensional IPA’s reign as our house beer, which pours through October 2020.

LINK: Kulshan brews Peaks and Pints Tree-dimensional IPA

LINK: Tree-dimensional Tacoma: Sugar Maple

LINK: Tree-dimensional Tacoma: Tulip Poplar

LINK: Tree-dimensional Tacoma: Giant Sequoia

LINK: Tree-dimensional Tacoma: Pin Oak

LINK: Tree-dimensional Tacoma: Douglas Fir

LINK: Tree-dimensional Tacoma: Incense Cedar

LINK: Tree-dimensional Tacoma: Plume Sawara Cypress

LINK: Tree-dimensional Tacoma: Western Red Cedar

LINK: Tree-dimensional Tacoma: Ponderosa lemon hybrid

LINK: Tree-dimensional Tacoma: London planetrees

LINK: Tree-dimensional Tacoma: “Vanderwolf’s Pyramid” limber pine