Tree identification with pictures!

[Starting Small]

So I am pretty sure that I have this figured out but just want to be sure moving forward. The thinner tall tree goes with the leaf numbered 1. The other tree (close up of branches and bark) and the small leaf marked number 2 go together. My guess is that 1 is a sugar maple and that number 2 is a red maple. Am I correct? Both of these leaves are from the corresponding trees that never fell off in the fall. Thank you!

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[Starting Small]

Also I apologize if these are not very clear as it was raining when I took these today, if better pictures would help let me know and I can post some new ones tomorrow.

[Ausable]

Hey Starting Small - The one on the left looks like a Sugar Maple. That said - Get yourself a copy of the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees. It will help you identify all the trees you come across. Shows the leaf and how it is formed, The tree trunk and bark formation, the seed formation and also gives lots of information about each tree. I would not be without mine. I have several books on trees - but - like this one the best. Especially good for right now - when most of the trees are bare of leaves. ----Good Luck.

[Starting Small]

Good to know, does the other one look like a red? Thanks,

[Dan W]

Starting Small, I think #1 is a sugar but #4 is definately not a red. I don't know what it is offhand.

[Starting Small]

Interesting, maybe I have a hybrid of some sort. I could not find anything that really matches what this leaf and tree look like. I have 2 in my yard that were here when I bought my house. I just assumed it was a red, I tapped one last year and got a decent amount of sap from it. Although I remember the sap tasting a little like I was chewing on a piece of wood.

[SevenCreeksSap]

http://maple.dnr.cornell.edu/kids/tree_blk.htm
Black maple is very similar in all respects to sugar maple, and thus is often misidentified as sugar maple. The key differences separating these two species are black maple's wider and drooping leaves, longer leaf stalk (petiole), and waxy coating on twigs greater than two years old. Black maple, like sugar maple, is an important species for sawtimber, veneer, maple syrup, and fuel wood.-Cornell site



The second one kind of look s like a Black maple, which Is supposed to have good sugar. We dont have them here so I've only seen a couple but small lobes on bottom are a clue.

[Mud Island Maple]

Check out maple-trees.com and see what you think. #1 is most likely a sugar maple but #2 is not a red. Looks like it could be a black maple though.

[Ausable]

Hey - Starting Small - You are really driving me bonkers with the leaf marked as Nr. 2. Looks like a nice - friendly little Maple Leaf that would be easy to identify - but - the only thing I can find so far is a Shantung Maple - which is an ornamental. Audubon dosen't list it - but - that is just for North American trees. I'm sure some of the Older? Wiser Members on this Site will be able to identify it ---- maybe ---- Hey - You just messing with us? --LOL--

[Starting Small]

I wish I were messing with you guys! I have been trying to figure it out for 2 years. Would a picture of the whole tree be helpful, of course without leaves. Both of the trees in my yard have leaves like this. What is also strange is that this summer both of these trees started having branches die for no apparent reason. It looks like they started to bud in the spring and then most of the branches developed leaves and the other branches just stopped, turned black and brittle and that was it. I only tapped one of the 2 in my yard last year so I know it is not from me tapping.

[English River Maple]

[QUOTE= My guess is that 1 is a sugar maple and that number 2 is a red maple. Am I correct?

Exactly! #1 is a sugar maple, #2 is a red.

[Mud Island Maple]

#2 is not a red maple. Red maples have small sharp teeth along the edges of the leaf and deep valleys between the lobes. The black maple has three lobes and sometimes a couple of very small lobes near the stem.

[Starting Small]

Is it possible that it is a leaf that is not fully formed and that is why it looks different than most leaves?

[SevenCreeksSap]

That is possible which is why leaf ID in winter is tricky. I cant get your pic to come up but Petersons field guide describes Black Maple as close to sugar but leaf stalk enlarges abruptly at base, and leaf tends to curl or wavy edged, and twigs orange-brown and duller, while sugar twigs somewhat shiny.

It could be a cultivar of a variation of Red maple (trilobum) which is described as leaves three lobed and rounded to wedge shaped leaves. A red has more teeth between the lobes but not sure about the variety Trilobum

I'm sure its a maple. as big as it is I'd try a tap and test the sugar. If its good, boil it.

[sugar ED]

Hi ,Starting Small and All
I'm no expert, but I gots to chime in on this, lol. My guess Black maple. I'm with SevenCreeks and Mud Island and what they said .
"Acer nigrum (Black maple) is a species of maple closely related to A. saccharum (sugar maple),
and treated as a subspecies of it by some authors, as Acer saccharum subsp. nigrum."
The simplest and most accurate method for distinguishing between the two trees is the generally three-lobed
leaves of the black maple versus the generally five-lobed leaves of the sugar maple.
The leaves of the black maple also tend to have a "droopy" appearance. Other differences that are not
as pronounced include darker, more deeply grooved bark, slightly smaller seeds, and thicker petioles.5195 good luck tappin !

[sugar ED]

Ok, not to take this tread over ,lol .Same subject - maple trees ....Now that I've looked in to this a little, Something got me a wondering ??? Is it fire wood or tapping time ?
Norway Maple !!! I spotted a few this year ,walked by for years during Saping time and no leaves (thinking "weard ash" ) ! But this summer I seen the leaves and though... MORE SAP RRRRR.......That I've been pipeing(Taplines)right past them !
BUT... now that I've red up on them I'm thing It's a good tree to past up and maybe cut down ???? Dose anyone here Tap them ? DO I want milky sap in with my clear sap (not) or is that just milky in the summer ?.
Was told by old timer "tap her she a maple", lol. but... didn't mention to him that there's alot of maples u don't tap , like ,Japanese maple ect..

[The Norway Maple is similar to the Sugar Maple except where its seed wings are on a 180 degree angle and the
Sugar Maple's seeds are on a 120 degree angle. Also if you break a leaf stem (petiole) on the Norway Maple its sap
is milky white where the Sugar Maple's sap is clear.]
The Norway Maple
has become invasive in forest through the northwest and northeast and has the ability to shade
out native species and thus out compete them.
It releases chemicals to discourage undergrowth which tends to create bare, muddy run-off conditions immediately under
the tree. A. platanoides has been shown to inhibit the growth of native saplings as a canopy tree or as a sapling.
Norway maple also suffers less herbivory than sugar maple, allowing it to gain a competitive advantage
against the latter species.
Do I HEAR My CHAINSAW yet ? Or should I drill her and take a taste ? Than cut them down ? sweet or not ???
Thanks for ur help and good luck sappin , Ed

[Tithis]

I've heard mixed things about the Norway when it comes to sap and syrup. I can confirm in the very least that they can be used for syrup, what I can't speak for is their sugar content or budding time. I've heard their sugar content is close to sugar maples.

You shouldn't have any qualms with tapping a Norway maple, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to cut them down afterwards if you owned them.

[SevenCreeksSap]

I tap a Norway in my front yard and the sap is clear and over 2% this year. The milky excretion when you break a leaf off is the way to tell it's a Norway in the summer, as opposed to a Red. I'd tap more if I had them. The bark does kind of look like Ash but ash always has the pitchfork twigs on the ends, or also looks like a turkey track in the snow.

[sugar ED]

I've heard mixed things about the Norway when it comes to sap and syrup. I can confirm in the very least that they can be used for syrup, what I can't speak for is their sugar content or budding time. I've heard their sugar content is close to sugar maples.

You shouldn't have any qualms with tapping a Norway maple, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to cut them down afterwards if you owned them.
Yes, there on my land and in a wet area were maybe a sugar or silver maple would most likely have a drownding of the roots problem ? So maybe a good place for them too be,till taped to death ? Also seen a thread in here -a guy in Maine said he only has Norway maple and there Great ??? So thanks to all and Good luck sappin ! Ed

[theschwarz1]

#2 is not a norway or a red. In between the lobes is too rounded. It is some sort of asian maple. Look at the assortment of leaves on this sight:
http://www.miyamaasianmaples.com/
the one in the bottom center is the same as your #2 leaf. Now to identify the exact tree name...

[theschwarz1]

though it is very similar to a red maple leaf....
http://www.waterfordvillage.org/graphics/nature/maple-leaves.gif

[theschwarz1]

immature black maple is a close one to as well as a striped maple....iyiyiy

[happy thoughts]

tree #2 is a tough one. It could be a red but the leaf doesn't look quite right to me. It might be an immature leaf. Hard to tell from your pic, does the leaf have edges that look saw toothed? The edges of reds are jagged.

If this is your own tree, can you remember when it sheds it helicopters? Reds drop them in late spring, early summer. For most of the others it's late summer. If you can get a good look at some small branches with buds, that should help ID it. If you can remember anything about the seed cases and how they look/hang etc, that should also help.

Whatever it is, it pretty much looks like a maple of some sort imho. The smaller branches on the tree and even the leaf veining are opposite. You should be able to make some syrup from it.

[Starting Small]

So I thin I have figured it out. It is a red, showing an immature leaf. The tree does drop its seeds in spring and the buds are getting larger and are a red color. I can report back for sure in the next month or two to let you all know for sure. I appreciate the feedback!

[happy thoughts]

You've got a red then. The bud color is the dead giveaway.

Happy sapping!:)

[Starting Small]

Am I correct in saying that sugar maple buds are brown, small and come to a sharp point?

[happy thoughts]

Yes, but that also can describe a black maple. They are very similar. Both are hard maples, closely related and very good trees to tap if you have them.

[bowtie]

it may be a red maple, or it could be an ornamental species there are so many introduced species that sometimes tree i.d. is very difficult especially in yards or along town streets. if its a maple tap it, why not.

[SevenCreeksSap]

Am I correct in saying that sugar maple buds are brown, small and come to a sharp point?

If those buds are small, brown, pointed, the bark is really smooth on the whole trunk , and the branches aren't opposite each other you may be looking at a beech.

[MN Jake]

I used to work in the landscape field and looks to me like it may be a large amur maple. They are supposed to be decorative but I have seen them spread into the woods around here and grow fairly large.

[Vermonner]

did you tap it this year and test the sap? if so, where did it test out?
if not, try it next year...?