Each of the maples has one character which distinguishes it from all the other maples. For the sugar maple, this distinguishing character is the sharp point of the bud. For the silver maple it is the bend in the terminal twig. For the red maple it is the smooth gray-colored bark.
The Red Maple publishes his beauty twice a year. In the spring, long before its leaves appear, it hangs out a large number of little red flowers that soon become “keys” strongly tinted with red. Furthermore the young leaves appear on red stalks or “petioles”. Again in Automn it calls attention to itself in a magnificent way. Its leaves turn bright red in striking contrast with the sober green foliage still worn by most of its neighbours.
The leaves of the Red Maple are about 4 inches in width. They are usually three-lobed but sometimes two small additional lobes appear.
The bark on higher branches is a smooth light grey colour, while the lower bark of the trunk is dark gray and somewhat wrinkled and ridged.
From the perspective of producing maple syrup, red maple's most attractive characteristic is its ability to thrive on a wide variety of site conditions.
It is important to emphasize that good, high-quality maple syrup can be made from red maple sap. In addition, when the sap of some red maples is processed, an excessive amount of sugar sand is produced. Sugar sand or niter is the salt that precipitates during the evaporation process.
