How can I identify Maples in CT in winter?

[TapTapTap]

[QUOTE=Sugar Bear;390964]

It's hard telling from photos. But I'm going to say they're all maples.
QUOTE]


As they say in New Yawk .... "Ya don't know what you are talkin bout"

I'm not offended, but rather angry that you are encouraging a neophyte to drill holes in Oak Trees.

In the woods I'm able to look at the whole tree starting with the bark because it's easier to see up close. This is usually all I need. If I can't decide from the bark then I go to the branches. Many times the bark has a different appearance even on a single tree (as anyone should know). A photo of one section of tree does not give a true 3-d perspective and may confirm nothing. The opposite twigs (as I've said from the beginning) is the tell regardless of the look of the bark. Ryanscloz indicated that he knew about opposite branches and presented the photos as possible maples.

On the boiling down of 2 cups of sap to a tablespoon - I say there is no way it can be done without a serious melt-down, particularly someone who has never boiled. And, it's not necessary. So don't go scolding me about misleading anyone.

[Ed R]

To answer your question about other trees that run. From my own experience birches and hop hornbeam will run, especially later in the season. Nut trees will run to varying degrees (walnut,butternut, hickory,and pecans). Beech will run just a little bit. I have tapped an ash a white oak and a red oak (on purpose) and none of them have run any sap. Just tapping it and seeing if it runs is probably not the best tapping strategy.

[TapTapTap]

Forgive the poor photos in my previous post. They were taken in profile orientation and the photo upload kept flipping them 90 deg. So I screen shot them but they didn't have good resolution.

All of these photos are maples with not the typical bark. The one with the old leaves is also a maple with withered maple leaves.

Ken

[Gord]

Who would think it could be so difficult to identify maples. It's amazing how they can fool you. I've mentioned it to friends, and they thought I was crazy, so I had them take a walk with me and point them out. They basically pointed out every kind of tree except pine trees!
The second and forth tree in from the left don't look like maples to me, but I guess they are if you know they are.
I have lots of reds on my property. In the fall, before the leaves fell, I went around and tagged the maples. I guess if I took pics of them now, they probably wouldn't look like maples either. In past years I've used binoculars so I could see the ends of the high branches to make sure they were maples.

[Sugar Bear]

[QUOTE=TapTapTap;390984]

In the woods I'm able to look at the whole tree starting with the bark because it's easier to see up close. This is usually all I need. If I can't decide from the bark then I go to the branches. Many times the bark has a different appearance even on a single tree (as anyone should know). A photo of one section of tree does not give a true 3-d perspective and may confirm nothing. The opposite twigs (as I've said from the beginning) is the tell regardless of the look of the bark. Ryanscloz indicated that he knew about opposite branches and presented the photos as possible maples.

On the boiling down of 2 cups of sap to a tablespoon - I say there is no way it can be done without a serious melt-down, particularly someone who has never boiled. And, it's not necessary. So don't go scolding me about misleading anyone.

Have you considered changing the name of your user ID from TapTapTap to something like LookLookLook or LookFirstThenTap

PS ... Every time I mill a Red Oak log from now on I will think of the first two pics on each row in this thread and of TapTapTap.
Same with a White Oak. And Black Oak if I ever mill any Black.

[Sugar Bear]

You can taste test sap for its would be syrup by putting two cups of sap in a small pot 6 inches or less in diameter. Do not try to do this with a Leader Inferno. It will not work. You will have a melt down. I prefer using a gas flame. As the sap boils down low in the small pot, tilt the pot at an angle and hold only the low side of the pot over the edge of the flame such that it continues to boil down to near syrup. As sap gets very low, lift pot away from flame if boil is too aggressive/burning. Takes a bit but it is not too bad, and you certainly do not want to boil all of your sap this way.

Tip ... While the initial boil of the sap takes place, do not go watch a movie. Stay close by and keep an eye on it.

I did it last year with some Red Maple Sap, 1% and it worked with that. I imagine it will only work better with 3% Hard Maple Sap.

If you find this approach too daunting then up the two cups to half a gallon or one gallon of sap.

[TapTapTap]

Here's a couple of 6" maples with odd bark:

PXL_20210222_213639912.MP.jpg

And one of those screaming maples - "I'm not an oak! I'm a maple. Tap me!"

PXL_20210222_222018354.jpg

[Sugar Bear]

Here's a couple of 6" maples with odd bark:

Attachment 22007

And one of those screaming maples - "I'm not an oak! I'm a maple. Tap me!"

Attachment 22008

After you read the following about marcescence let me know if you find any pics of screaming maples in it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcescence

Try to read this sentence from that link at least two or three times....

"All oak trees may display foliage marcescence, even species that are known to fully drop leaves when the tree is mature"

Let me know if the link even mentions the maple tree.

Marcescence in maples both Red and Sugar in these parts is rare and far more common in oak and beech as I mentioned in a previous post in this thread.

Although you can take the LOW road and convince the poor guy to tap the oak trees.

To be fair to you, even though you are not being fair to the originator of this thread, I will add that the article does mention this ...

"Many other trees may have Marcescence leaves in seasons where an early freeze kills the leaves before the abscission layer develops or completes development"

And while we did have a early hard frost across this region this year I have noticed no Maples with any Marcescence.

[aviboy97]

I’ve never been able to tell with 100% accuracy. I mark my trees is the summer so I can tell come winter. I then look at the bark of a similar sized tree and guess.

[TapTapTap]

So what did you figure out now that there's leaves on the trees?

I thought about this the other day when I was at a local golf course and this maple tree had ash bark.

Ken