POsting pictures?

[maple flats]

Has anyone found a way to post pictures on this forum? I want to take a few pictures of the bark of sugar maples thru several stages of maturity. I think it would help many identify them correctly when the leaves are off. I could do a go around but posting it in a thread would be seen by far more. Back when I first started looking for sugar maples to tap, being able to identify them in any season helped considerably. Initially I had to study the bark up close and even use binoculars or a spotting scope to study the limb up high looking for sharp pointed buds and opposite branching. In time I got to where I could I.D. them from 25-50' away as i drove by.

[maple flats]

For those it might help until I can get pictures I'll make some observations, in no particular order, this will mostly be for sugar maples, but
not exclusively:
1 All maples have opposite branching, but you often need to see into the fine branches higher up or out near the fine tips. Most opposite
branches seem to get broken off. Many smart phones can zoom or expand pictures enough to see even better than a spotting scope.

2. For sugar maples, in late fall until bud break the upcoming buds will be pointed, red and sugar maples will be wide and almost flat on
the end.

3. Sugar maples bark, trees from saplings to about 2" diameter have quite smooth bark.

4. Sugar maples (SM) from about 2.5" diameter up to 5,6 or even 7" diameter (DBH, diameter at breast height) start to have a slightly
bumpy appearance.

5 SM, at about 8-10" DBH start to have vertical cracks appear in the bark, maybe 4-10" long, like the bark can't stretch to keep up with
growth.

6 SM, by 12-14" DBH some of the vertical cracks start to peel away, not enough to expose the cambium but significantly.

7 SM by about 16" and up the pealing bark gets gradually more pronounced, in time, the pealed bark might be anywhere from 1 ft to even
2.5 or 3' tall. These pealed bark cracks will be every few inches around the tree.
8 Any maple can make syrup, but the best ones are SM, red M Silver M and black M (black M is very similar to SM and is similar in sugar
content.
9 SM has a growth characteristic different from Red M and silver M. The SM tends to look like the branches have better support where
they come off the trunk, almost like a muscular look, and on sugar maples most of the limbs tend to grow out wider, even flat out, or
sagging, while reds and silvers have most limbs grow much more upward.
10 For when the leaves are on, rather than describing the leaves, Search leaf pictures for each variety of maple, plus at least one not
mentioned above, the box elder (also called the ash leaf maple or Manitoba Maple).
I hope this helps some of you. Once you get practiced at it, especially with sugar maple, and it's growth characteristics you should be able to identify a mature sugar maple from 25-50' away or even farther. Good luck!

[BAP]

Has anyone found a way to post pictures on this forum? I want to take a few pictures of the bark of sugar maples thru several stages of maturity. I think it would help many identify them correctly when the leaves are off. I could do a go around but posting it in a thread would be seen by far more. Back when I first started looking for sugar maples to tap, being able to identify them in any season helped considerably. Initially I had to study the bark up close and even use binoculars or a spotting scope to study the limb up high looking for sharp pointed buds and opposite branching. In time I got to where I could I.D. them from 25-50' away as i drove by.
Dave
You are a Super Moderator, with your extra access, if you can’t post pictures then nobody can. Why don’t you talk to the owner and see if they can do something about the picture situation. Everyone keeps asking, but nothing changes.

[Scm]

i upload images here
https://imgbb.com/
(https://imgbb.com/)
Get the BBCode full link

https://i.ibb.co/C5JS0LhV/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-09-27-47-Img-BB-Upload-Image-Free-Image-Hosting.png (https://ibb.co/Z6HbT9Wc)

then add the BBCode full link into the post with the source editor (this button https://i.ibb.co/n88R05QP/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-09-23-41-POsting-pictures.png (https://imgbb.com/))

https://i.ibb.co/nN9ZvYkP/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-09-35-14-POsting-pictures.png (https://ibb.co/9k6zL1YZ)

Save and done

As seen on this post

Should be possible to use any pic hosting service. Its just the BBCode and the link to the pic you need.

[Andy VT]

Maple tree identification would make a great youtube video, and would then be easily posted here and other places. Such videos do already exist so it might be worth a perusal to see their merits and demerits and try to address the demerits in the new video.
It doesn't have to be actual video either. It can be pictures strung together into a sort of slide show as well (which rolls as a video).
Andy

[maple flats]

BAP and others, I only have the ability to edit or delete posts, that's the only extra I can do that others can't. Only moderators can.
AS far as computer literacy, I'm sadly ill mentally equiped, You need to realize, back when I was in school, calculators were only adding machines and in College a few had calculaters but they were not permitted to be used in class or for tests. About 20 yrs later I was an Explorer Scout leader, an adventure post. We took the members to visit a computer center. At that center the computer filled a whole building and they were used by banks, investment services and such to back up data. Now a few thumb drives can hold as much data as that whole computer could hold. I'm old school, a pencil was our computer when I went to school.
Any flashes of brilliance I might ever display are because my I.T. son helps me.