Identifying Maple Trees by Their Bark and Branches in Winter [updated]

We like to plan out the maple tapping around Valentine’s Day.  For anyone new to sugaring on their land, the first step is knowing which trees are good maples for tapping.  If you did not identify them in the Summer when the iconic maple leaves were easy to spot, don’t fret.  It is absolutely possible to ID the maples on your land in winter so you can make your own syrup.

Before you start: Check out our complete guide for harvesting sap and making syrup

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Identifying Maple Trees by bark and buds

Summer identification is a piece of cake for most people. You just need to see the leaves and you’re done.  But how on earth can we do it without the lovely leaves in the winter?  Although it might be hard to tell at first, maple trees have two very distinguishing features: bark and branching patterns.

1. Identify Maples by the branches: Opposite Branching and Paired buds

Maples are unique from many other deciduous trees in that it buds in pairs and has opposite branches (branches come out at the same point on the parent branch on opposite sides),  like this:

Note: Not EVERY branch on a maple will have an opposite branch pair since they can break off or fail to thrive for various reasons, but you will begin to recognize the way a tree with paired branches look versus alternate branching with some practice.

2. Identify Maples by Bark and rule out other opposite branching trees 

Identifying opposite branching is only one component to identifying maples.  Let’s take a look at the bark.  Maples are diverse, and can be smooth when the tree is younger and can get rather shaggy as it ages.  Here are some examples from our land:

Those all look pretty darn different to me!  I confuse the bark of maple with oak all the time, but luckily oak doesn’t have opposite branching.  Its branches alternate.

This is why identifying the branching pattern is so important!

There are only a handful of trees with opposite branching, which is great news for us maple lovers.  If you can identify a tree has opposite branching and think it could possibly be a maple, there are really only two trees you need to rule out: Ash and Dogwood.  There are other trees and plants with opposite branching, but I don’t think they’re an issue since they either don’t look like a big tree or they don’t typically grow in the regions where syrup is made.

Rule out the Ash

The branches of an ash look quite different from a maple despite the similar branching pattern, and the bark is fairly easily distinguished from maple with its diamond pattern.  Usually one look at the bark and you can tell it’s not a maple.  A typical example of Ash bark is shown below.

Rule out the Flowering Dogwood

I’ve never found a dogwood near me, but the key characteristic to look for in winter is the bark. Dogwood bark has a cool blocky look that reminds me of alligators:

Photographer: Charles Hoysa, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Bugwood.org. Original url: http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=5334055 Shared under Creative Commons BY.

 

In summary: To identify a maple tree in the winter, you have to confirm opposite branching and paired buds, and then look at the bark to rule out the ash and flowering dogwood. 

Now get out those snowshoes and see how many maples you can find!  Sooner than you know it the days will be above freezing and the sap will be flowing!

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You’ve taken the first step to making your own syrup, welcome to the club!!  We have the rest of the steps in our book, which is a complete guide to making maple syrup without spending too much on fancy equipment. Check it out here:

Happy sugaring!