- 1). Examine the maple tree sprout for leaves. Young maple tree sprouts typically produce one to two leaves to begin the photosynthesis process. The appearance of these leaves can help you determine if the sprout is a maple tree and which type of tree it might be. Maple leaves resemble a spread hand with veins that radiate from the stem outward through the leaf. There are between three and nine veins in each leaf. The space between veins usually has deep lobes. Maple leaves vary in appearance from tree to tree. For example, Japanese maple leaves are typically red in color in sunlight and green in color in shady areas. Sugar maples and silver maples have five lobes and bright green color, while black maple and red maple typically have three lobes.
- 2). Walk around your neighborhood and look at other trees. The nearest maple tree is possibly the parent of the new maple in your yard. Compare the leaves of the adult tree to your tree sprout to see if they are the same type of tree.
Look at the bark of the mature tree if the sprout and the grown tree are the same type. The mature bark of maple trees becomes more distinctive among tree varieties. Older sugar maple trees develop irregular, thick vertical plates. These plates seem to peel from the trunk vertically. Black maples will develop a similar bark structure but the bark of the tree will be darker and the furrows will be deeper. Red maple bark will develop narrow scaly plates. A mature silver maple's bark will develop a shaggy appearance due to the tree's long, thin scaly plates. - 3). Narrow down your list of maple trees by consulting a map. Various maple trees are confined to specific parts of the United States. Trees such as sugar, black, mountain and striped maple primarily grow in the northeastern United States. Red and silver maples as well as the boxelder maple grow in the eastern United States. The bigleaf and vine maples grow primarily along the pacific coast. The Canyon maple grows in the Rocky Mountains while the Rocky Mountain maple grows throughout the western United States. The chalk maple grows in the southeast and the Florida maple grows in Florida and the Piedmont region of the southeast.
- 4). Contact your local county extension service or master gardener program to verify your findings. Agents with the extension service and administrators of a university master gardener program will be familiar with tree species growing in your area and can confirm your diagnosis of the species of maple tree in your area.
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