Hard Maple, yes?
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![[Hearth.com] Hard Maple, yes?](/talk/data/attachments/135/135060-007d3309461bc418a99a0c41f04b32aa.jpg?hash=dRcpMBg0Lx)
![[Hearth.com] Hard Maple, yes?](/talk/data/attachments/135/135061-3fd6576f357ebfce29816f028a0049e4.jpg?hash=ObkiG6NzOO)
nrford
Minister of Fire
That leaf has characteristics of both Sugar and Red, and that bark looks like no Maple I see here. Could it be some type of ornamental escapee from the yard?
mass_burner
Minister of Fire
Just had cord of hard maple split onsite. Guy said it was the toughest he split in recent memory. Bought it in green rounds, tried to split it myself but its not worth it. I'll take pics later for comparison.
Darbycrash
Member
best bet to tell between a sugar and red maple would be the density test. Is it heavy, are the growth rings close or far, is a fresh split porous like pine or dense like oak.
Fred Wright
Minister of Fire
Looks like red maple. They grow like weeds around here.
Red maple can sport different bark appearances. The more familiar is the smooth grey. But rough, dark bark is also common. I see both back here in the woodlot. They're all red maples.
Red maple can sport different bark appearances. The more familiar is the smooth grey. But rough, dark bark is also common. I see both back here in the woodlot. They're all red maples.
The leaves look strange because they arent the usual three lobes, they have 5 like most sugar but its definitely Red maple.
The tree shot looks Red maple as well. But in a way its good news, you might be able to burn it by February if you move on it.
The tree shot looks Red maple as well. But in a way its good news, you might be able to burn it by February if you move on it.
![[Hearth.com] Hard Maple, yes?](/talk/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fplants.usda.gov%2Fgallery%2Flarge%2Facsa3_002_lvp.jpg&hash=a590a245ca42322dc3d9d132a78159db "[Hearth.com] Hard Maple, yes?")
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Red maple
I can't decide which yours is
Hickorynut
Feeling the Heat
I will echo fred wrights comments. I feel you have red maple from my experiences of gazing around at my acres of hundreds of soft maples and only about 5 sugar maples. The leaves are more of an identifier than the bark.
It was wishful thinking I guess but still it will be firewood for next year since I'll wait till late autumn to cut it up. Recent storms have provided about a years worth of firewood for me.
Shawn Curry
Member
Red Maple, or a Red/Norway/Silver cross. Another identifying characteristic I have found: Red tend to be multi-stemmed, and have a lot of root suckers. The bark can look very similar to Sugar, but it always has a "shattered glass" effect to it, instead of vertical furrows. All of my sugar maples have a "verification branch" - a small, low hanging branch where I can get a good look at the leaves or buds.
Hello! Been reading the forum for years and it's finally time for a first post -- even if the thread is a few days old.
The leaves shown in the OP are definitely Red Maple -- not Sugar Maple. When it comes to identifying Sugar Maple leaves probably the best marker is the U-shaped notches between the leaves. These U-shaped notches between the lobes can be seen clearly in the first picture that johneh posted. Red Maple, on the other hand, has V-shaped notches between the lobes -- as can be seen in the second picture posted by johneh. Of course all the other maples have either U-shaped or V-shaped notches too but when the question is simply Red or Sugar, it's usually pretty clear.
I find that Sugar and Red Maple bark isn't particularly helpful until the trees get quite old and the bark starts to develop furrows or scale out at which point the bark alone tells the story.
The leaves shown in the OP are definitely Red Maple -- not Sugar Maple. When it comes to identifying Sugar Maple leaves probably the best marker is the U-shaped notches between the leaves. These U-shaped notches between the lobes can be seen clearly in the first picture that johneh posted. Red Maple, on the other hand, has V-shaped notches between the lobes -- as can be seen in the second picture posted by johneh. Of course all the other maples have either U-shaped or V-shaped notches too but when the question is simply Red or Sugar, it's usually pretty clear.
I find that Sugar and Red Maple bark isn't particularly helpful until the trees get quite old and the bark starts to develop furrows or scale out at which point the bark alone tells the story.
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