Tree identification

[syrupdreamer]

Hello all. This is my first post. I have been doing reseach here for some time. Last season i tapped in my neiborhood and could identify the trees very easily. this year i have permission on a 40 i walked it today and could identify the older mature trees but couldnt figure out the smaller ones. i have done some looking around on the internet for identification but there are no leaves now. i live in minnesota around the twin citys so we have a wide variety of trees in the woods. any help would be greatly appriciated

[Loun]

im kinda in the same boat, on the trees I cant see the buds..

These links might help:
http://www.ryersonwoods.org/p/wintertrees.html
http://botany.suite101.com/article.cfm/identifying_trees_in_winter
http://www.waterfordva-wca.org/nature-garden/trees-maples.htm

This is the one that helped me the most, since you can see the buds:
http://www.massmaple.org/treeID.html

[Flat47]

The 1996 version "North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual" has an excellent chapter on tree id. I suspect that the most revision does, too, but I haven't seen it to testify one way or the other. Also, check out "Forest Trees of Maine" by the Maine Forest Service (available online - just google it). It's very good, too.

[syrupdreamer]

thanks for the tips i will check them out.

[Frank Ivy]

For me, this is the easiest way to tell -

Young red maples tend to have very tight, very smooth bark - almost like beech. The trunk and branches tend to be round in cross section. The buds are very obvious, even now. If you look up at the canopy and can see roundish-buds, and lots of them, and the bark is silvery and mostly smooth on 10" diameter sections or thinner, and the branching is opposite, it's very likely a red maple.

The young sugars and blacks tend to have tight bark, less silvery than Reds. The branching is, like red, opposite, and there tends to be a lot of fine branches in the canopy. Other trees - like hickories and oaks, tend to have fewer fine branches. Without the leaves they look less dense in the canopy. Also, sugars and blacks tend to be non-circular in cross section.

Of course, if you can examine the buds, everything gets easier. Black and sugar have buds that are tight, small, pointed, and acorn-like. As in, they have overlapping scales.

Reds tend to be - red, and roundish.

Hope that helps.

[Dill]

Bring binoculars, I do better with the buds and twigs than bark so I need to be able to see them.
Or you can take the easy route, drill a hole, if it leaks sap and doesn't have needles its a maple.

[Toblerone]

This is a post I had on the subject a while ago:


The key is to bring binoculars and look at the twigs and how they come off the branch. If they are in an alternating pattern, then it is definitely NOT a maple. If any of them are in an opposite pattern (some will look alternate but only because the twig broke or didn't develop) it can only be 1 of four trees: 1) Buckeye or Horsechestnut, 2) Dogwood, 3) Ash, or 4) Maple.

Number 1 and 2 can be easily ruled out if you know you don't have any.. and Buckeyes have thick twigs and are very droopy. So then you only have to determine between Ash or Maple. It's very easy to tell on larger trees since an Ash will have a rigid diamond-like shape bark that is very tight to the tree. Maples will have less of a pattern, not so tightly held bark. On bigger maples, the bark will appear to be peeling or shaggy.

[RileySugarbush]

Where are you in the twin cities? We are in Eden Prairie. If you are close enough, I'd be happy to walk it with you and help identify your trees.

I remember that confusion. I'm pretty good at recognizing Sugars. Those are the only maples we have other than box elders and we leave them alone.
We could apply the rules to find the black and red maples if you have them.

[red maples]

I have a type of ash that I mistake for red maples in the winter I know th differnce now but they have the looser shaggy bark of a mature red maple but have a slightly smaller scale to the bark and are slight shade of brown but once you get the fever you get better at tre ID. I can get them right about 99% of the time and usually can get a tree right just by a quick glance at the bark. leaves are the easy part. even if you look up at the oak they have thicker heavier branches and the larger branches can get a little rough in shape.(if that makes sence) the maples both red and sugar branches are longer and thinner almost dainty looking!! and the reds are most obvious because of the big red bud!!

[wcproctor]

Just drill a hole and if it leaks tap it (Remember if you drill a apple tree you will get apple juice:lol::lol: )

[farmall h]

And if you tap dog wood?

[stevepipkin]

There are a bunch of distinguishing characteristics of sugar maples. Handbooks and websites are great resources.
Perhaps the best way to learn how to identify them is to find someone who really knows trees. I tapped a couple of trees in my neighborhood just to show the neighbor girls how its done. After about 2 minutes of instruction, Katie (the older sister) could pick out every mature maple we came upon.

The powers of observation are very keen when you're doing something that interests you.