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Marvelous Maples
Article #378, December 2026
By Bill Cook

Maples are the largest genus of Michigan trees, as measured by wood volume.  Botanical classification of Lake States trees, is not, perhaps, the most interesting topic but there exist some real gems among all the sciency stuff. 

    Michigan sports eight species of maples (Acer spp.), with only one alien, Norway maple.  Together, maples comprise about one third of all the forest wood volume in Michigan.  Maples have huge impacts on forest health, forest ecology, and our collective economy.  And, of course, don’t forget maple syrup!  Maybe that is why Canada is so sweet with a maple leaf on their national flag?
    The iconic sugar maple, by itself, occupies 16 percent of wood volume, followed closely by red maple at 14 percent.  Both species are on the rise.  So, it may behoove forest lovers to learn more about these wonderful and     The other maple species are silver maple, boxelder (or ash-leaved maple), Norway maple, black maple, striped maple, and mountain maple.  Silver maples prefer to occupy floodplains and similar soils.  Boxelders grow just about anywhere and everywhere.  They’re sometimes considered weeds.  Norway maple, the lone non-native, frequents urban and residential areas, but has become somewhat invasive in some places.  Black maple looks a whole lot like sugar maple and grows in Michigan’s southern counties.  Striped and mountain maple are shrubs that occur sporadically in the state.  Striped maple, or moosewood, is particularly fun with its green bark and white stripes.  Mountain maple leaves look like those of thimbleberry, if that helps anyone. 
    Thinking of leaves, maples have veins in a “palmate” pattern, except for boxelder.  Sugar maple leaves have smooth edges and red maple has edges with teeth, making it easy to tell them apart.  And the branching is “opposite”, meaning leaves, twigs, and bud scars all occur on the opposite side of a branch.  Only maples, dogwoods, ashes, and horse-chestnut have this key identification key among trees.  The brown end buds of sugar maple are quite pointy, while those of red maple are more rounded and reddish.
    Sugar maple is Michigan’s highest money-earner, known for flooring and a very wide range of other uses.  The annual NCAA final four basketball games are played on maple flooring made by a company near Amasa.  Sugar maple was once more common prior to Euro-American settlement but has gradually been reclaiming the “pole position”.  Seedlings can tolerate shade, so under certain environmental conditions, they can invade and take-over many forest stands. 
    Red maple is a softer wood and, perhaps, an underutilized species.  Like its cousin, red maple can invade understories and gradually dominate a stand.  It also stump sprouts more readily than sugar maple.  Red maple has a wider soil spectrum, so does well on a variety of soils.  It also grows more rapidly than sugar maple.
    Flowers are generally wind-pollinated but insects will sometimes serve that role.  Flower size is small and occurs early in the season.  Sugar maple blooms irregularly.  When they do, a soft greenish cast occurs throughout the canopy just prior to leaf break.  Red maple has good seed years almost annually. 
    All maples have characteristic helicopter fruit.  Sugar maple produces seed in the fall and red maple in the early summer.  Sugar maple seeds, from the previous fall, will often germinate through the snow at a temperature around 34 degrees.  Boxelder is a bit peculiar with having different male and female trees, although this often occurs in red maple, too.
    I had to groan when “sycamore” was the answer to a recent crossword clue about maples.  While sycamore has maple-like leaves, it’s not even remotely related to the maples.  It lies within a different genus, family, and order.  Somebody failed to fact-check that one!
    While maples are prolific, they do have many enemies and challenges.  A combination of drying soils and loss of humus due to earthworms (which are not native) threaten sugar maple regeneration.  Deer browse has all but eliminated maples in some areas.  Yet, the bull in the china shop is the prospect of the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB).  This beautiful and large beetle has a long list of host species but it particularly likes maples.  ALB is not known to be in Michigan, but has been found in Illinois, Ontario, and Ohio.  And, it is not something that we want to see!

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TRAILER- This website was created by a consortium of forestry groups to help streamline information about forestry and coordinate forestry activities designed to benefit the family forest owner and various publics that make up our Michigan citizenry.  This website is maintained by Bill Cook, Retired Michigan State Extension Forester/Biologist.  Direct comments to cookwi@msu.edu or 906-786-1575.