Not convinced? Check out these other tips from experts on tree identification! It’s the Canadian flag! It’s as easy as that. The few sugar maples we have are out in the open, and so have developed a crown that extends far enough toward the ground so that I don’t have to squint or forage for ground leaves to make my identification. (In the fall, sugar maples are likely to look multicolored, showing green as well as hints of yellow, orange, and/or red as their chlorophyll recedes.) The leaf of a sugar maple is 3-5 inches wide and has 5 lobes, with a smooth, curved edge where the leaf of the red maple is jagged. In addition, however, sugar maples have been planted along roadways and at the edges of pasture lands for hundreds of years, and can still be found thus anywhere that farming is or ever was. Sugar maples, so named because of the high concentration of sugar in their sap, grow even bigger than red maples, 60-80 feet, and naturally occur in rich, moist soils in uplands and valleys. Sugar MaplesĪnd then there are the sugars. The sugar maple leaf: five lobes, smooth edges, turns a variety of colors in fall. I was able to find leaves around the base of my reds as proof that I had squinted effectively. Most of the leaves are far enough up in the air that I have to squint to see them. And they have a saw-toothed, jagged edge to them with not a smooth curve anywhere that’s the giveaway for me. They tend to look 3 lobed rather than 5 lobed (lobes are the sections of the leaf), although technical definitions allow for both. The leaves of a red maple are from 2 to 6 inches wide. So, as it happens, for us, at least, there’s a little good news to take with the bad. Science suggests they will fare well despite our warming climate. So, even for us amateur makers, it’s worth knowing your reds, even if you have plenty of sugars. Red maples will tolerate a wider range of conditions than the sugar maple, including variations in the climate. The red maple leaf: three lobes, saw-tooth edges, turns red in fall. Presumably, red maples get their name either from the scarlet color they turn in the fall, the color of the winged seeds they produce in the springtime, or both. Red maples are hearty trees that grow to 50-70 feet tall.

Red maples are also called “swamp maples.” They live in swamps, bottomlands and uplands in moist soils. And reds are what we have near the house. That means it takes a bit more work to boil down to syrup, but the syrup tastes just the same. The sugar content of the sap is lower than with sugar maples. We make maple syrup with mostly red maples. So, grab a tape measure and some marking tape, and take a moment in the trees. Time to identify your maple trees!įall is a great time for you to make good on your goal of identifying some maples (or some more maples) for your DIY maple syrup-making operation.ĭid you know? You can make maple syrup from any tree in the maple family that is 10 inches in diameter at chest height. We can join it, if only for a minute, with a walk among the trees.

The leaves have started to turn, the air is crisp, and the world is letting out its annual sigh of relief.

Different type of maple trees