Hard Rock Maple tree.  (Sugar maple, rock maple)

Hard rock sugar maple is the most popular maple species on the east coast, and is common throughout New England, the Lake States, Mid-Atlantic states, and eastern Canada.  Its historical and economical importance, both in the production of maple syrup, as a timber species and as a raw material in the guitar building industry has made it the official state tree                                       of New York.

Hard rock eastern maple can grow to heights in excess of 100 feet. Most mature trees range from 50 to 80 feet in height with stump diameters from 1 to 5 feet. Trunks branch near the ground, forming crowns that spread 20 to 60 feet wide. Limb spread and appearance is very similar to western big leaf maple trees. The leaves of hard rock maple are single, much like the western big leaf, but smaller in size.They are dark green with 3 to 5 five-lobes. (Figure 1).

Eastern maple bark pattern: The bark of the trees is a darker gray and as the trees age the bark develops vertical grooves and darker brown colors.  On older trees, the bark  appears to have long grooves along the side edge.