Maples are everywhere. In yards, along streets, across forests from Canada to Georgia. Their distinctive leaves appear on the Canadian flag, Vermont license plates, and countless autumn photographs.

But “maple” covers over 130 species worldwide. The sugar maple in your neighbor’s yard looks nothing like a Japanese maple in a garden, and neither resembles the big-leaf maple towering over Pacific Northwest forests.

This guide covers the maples you’re most likely to encounter and how to tell them apart.

The Maple Leaf Basics

Most maple leaves share a few characteristics:

Opposite branching. Maple branches and leaves grow in pairs directly across from each other. This alone narrows your options significantly—most trees have alternate branching. If leaves grow opposite and have the classic lobed shape, you’re almost certainly looking at a maple.

Palmate lobes. The lobes radiate from a central point, like fingers from a palm. Most maples have 3-5 lobes, though some have more.

Winged seeds. Maples produce “helicopters” or “samaras”—seeds with papery wings that spin as they fall. These paired seeds appear in spring or fall depending on species.

Common Native Maples

Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)

The source of maple syrup and one of the most valuable hardwoods in North America.

Leaves: 5 lobes with few large teeth. The sinuses (spaces between lobes) are rounded and U-shaped, not sharp. Dark green above, paler below.

Bark: Young trees have smooth, gray bark. Mature trees develop long, irregular plates that look like they’re peeling upward. The bark is darker than most maples.

Fall color: The classic New England autumn—brilliant orange, red, and yellow, often on the same tree.

Habitat: Moist, well-drained forests throughout eastern North America. Dominant tree in many northern hardwood forests.

Sugar maples prefer shade when young and can wait decades in the understory before a gap opens up. They’re slow-growing and long-lived, reaching 300-400 years in undisturbed forests.

Red Maple (Acer rubrum)

Sometimes called swamp maple because it tolerates wet soils. The most common tree in eastern North American forests.

Leaves: 3-5 lobes with serrated (saw-toothed) edges. The sinuses are V-shaped and sharper than sugar maple. The middle lobe is usually not much longer than the side lobes.

Bark: Smooth and light gray when young, becoming darker and rougher with scaly plates on mature trees.

Fall color: Usually red (hence the name), but can range to orange or yellow. One of the first trees to turn in fall.

Identifying features: Red maples show red throughout the year—red buds in winter, red flowers in early spring, red samaras, red leaf stems in summer, red fall color.

Red maple adapts to almost any soil condition, which explains its dominance. It’s a generalist that thrives where specialists can’t.

Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)

A fast-growing tree often planted (and often regretted) for quick shade.

Leaves: 5 deeply cut lobes with coarse teeth. The sinuses extend almost to the center of the leaf, making the lobes look more separated than other maples. Silvery-white undersides—hence the name.

Bark: Smooth and silvery gray when young. Old bark shreds into long, loose strips.

Fall color: Pale yellow to brown. Nothing special compared to other maples.

Warnings: Silver maples have brittle wood that breaks in storms. Their aggressive roots can damage sidewalks, foundations, and sewer lines. Most arborists recommend against planting them near structures.

The silver underside of the leaves makes this tree easy to identify on windy days—the canopy flashes light and dark as breezes flip the leaves.

Black Maple (Acer nigrum)

Sugar maple’s close relative, sometimes considered a subspecies.

Leaves: Similar to sugar maple but with droopier, thicker leaves. Usually 3 lobes (the two basal lobes are often underdeveloped). The edges tend to curl downward.

Bark: Darker and more deeply furrowed than sugar maple.

Range: Overlaps with sugar maple in the Midwest, extending slightly further west into the Great Plains.

Black maple sap has similar sugar content to sugar maple, and the two species hybridize where their ranges overlap. Some taxonomists lump them together.

Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum)

The West Coast giant.

Leaves: Enormous—up to 12 inches across, the largest of any maple. 5 deeply cut lobes.

Bark: Gray-brown, developing ridges and furrows with age. Often heavily covered with moss and ferns in the Pacific Northwest’s wet climate.

Seeds: Large samaras covered with stiff, yellowish hairs.

Habitat: From southern Alaska to southern California, mostly west of the Cascades. Dominant hardwood in many Pacific Northwest forests.

These trees can reach 150 feet tall with trunks 4-5 feet in diameter. The wood has beautiful figure and is prized for furniture and musical instruments.

Non-Native Maples

Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)

The ornamental maple found in countless gardens and landscapes.

Leaves: Highly variable depending on cultivar—from 5-11 lobes, in colors from bright green to deep purple. Many cultivars have extremely dissected (lacy) leaves.

Size: Usually a small tree or large shrub, 15-25 feet tall. Some weeping forms stay under 10 feet.

Fall color: Brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows depending on variety.

Japanese maples prefer partial shade, especially in hotter climates. Full sun can scorch the delicate leaves, particularly red-leaved varieties that lack chlorophyll protection.

Hundreds of cultivars exist, bred for different leaf shapes, colors, and growth habits. ‘Bloodgood’ is a popular purple-leaved variety. ‘Dissectum’ types have the finely cut, lacy appearance.

Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)

Widely planted as a street tree, now considered invasive in parts of North America.

Leaves: 5 lobes with few teeth. Similar to sugar maple but with milky sap (break a leaf stem to check—sugar maple sap is clear).

Bark: Gray with interlacing ridges, forming a corky texture.

Fall color: Yellow, sometimes with brownish tones. Holds its leaves longer than native maples in fall.

Problem: Norway maples cast dense shade that prevents native plants from growing beneath them. They’re escaping cultivation and displacing native species in eastern forests.

The milky sap test is the quickest way to distinguish Norway maple from sugar maple. Just snap off a leaf and look at the stem.

Identification by Season

Spring: Look for flowers and emerging seeds. Red maples show red flowers before leaves appear. Silver maples also flower early. Norway maples have yellow-green flower clusters.

Summer: Leaf shape and arrangement are most reliable. Check branching pattern, lobe count, sinus shape, and leaf margin teeth.

Fall: Color can help but varies with weather and individual genetics. Sugar and red maples typically show the best color.

Winter: Bark and bud characteristics become important. Sugar maple buds are brown and pointed. Red maple buds are red and rounded. Look for persistent samaras or fallen leaves beneath the tree.

Quick Reference

Species	Lobes	Sinuses	Leaf Margin	Sap	Fall Color
Sugar Maple	5	U-shaped	Few teeth	Clear	Orange/red/yellow
Red Maple	3-5	V-shaped	Serrated	Clear	Red
Silver Maple	5 (deep)	Very deep	Coarse teeth	Clear	Yellow
Norway Maple	5	Variable	Few teeth	Milky	Yellow
Japanese Maple	5-11	Variable	Variable	Clear	Red/orange

Using Technology

Maple identification gets tricky with hybrids and the many ornamental cultivars. When leaf shape alone isn’t conclusive, photograph multiple features—leaves, bark, seeds if available—and use the Tree Identifier app to compare against similar species.

The app handles variations within species well, recognizing that one red maple might look slightly different from another based on genetics and growing conditions.

Why Maples Matter

Beyond fall color and syrup, maples provide critical ecosystem services. Their seeds feed squirrels, chipmunks, and birds. Their leaves decompose quickly, cycling nutrients back into forest soils. Their shade cools streets and reduces building energy costs.

Understanding which maple grows where—and why—connects you to the landscape. That towering sugar maple in the park has been there for centuries. The silver maple with the broken limbs probably shouldn’t have been planted where it is. The Japanese maple in the courtyard was chosen by someone who wanted beauty in a small space.

Each maple has a story. Learning to identify them helps you read those stories.

Maple Tree Identification: From Sugar to Japanese