Swamp maple (red maple/Acer Rubrum) tends to grow in wet lowland areas and also often as a pioneer species. Swamp maple is just a fairly common common name for red maple around here, especially as it is such a primary species in the local swamps that may or may not have been highly populated with Atlantic white cedar(cypress) at one time. It's OK firewood, not the greatest but better than poplar for sure.
Ok billb3 to me it sounds like your describing silver. In MBTU cord Sugar is 24 Red is 20 Silver is 17 Yellow poplar is 16 it’s ok if you flat landers mess up your maple IDs But in Vermont maples are serious
One doesn't find (much) silver maple growing around this part of the state. Nor sugar/hard maple. Mostly red/swamp maple and norway maple.
Too many maple naming nuances for my mind I agree with billb3 on his description. The reds can be prevalent in low lying swampy areas (like a silver maple is too) They are indeed a pioneering species like black birch is as well. One of my favorite hiking areas is on land that used to be pasture before it was abandoned and reverted back to forest. There are huge stands of monoculture everywhere to be seen. Black birch areas, white pine, and especially red maple. I know in my area the reds outnumber sugars by a large margin. Silver is the most elusive in the wild, and Norways are very common street trees that are becoming more and more established elsewhere as their seed pods get dispersed by wind every year.
I get it; sugars prefer well drained rocky soil; reds grow anywhere; Norway’s are invasive PITA because the blow over and break in every storm. the university has cloned many to get best features of all so it gets crazy with our state tree
so is that a king, queen, full, or twin sized stack? Im pizzed as ive taken many of those to the scrapyard!
There's almost as many Norway Maples in my town as there are Reds or Sugars. Back when Dutch Elm Disease wiped out all the Elm street trees, the city brought in Norway Maples because they grow fast and provide a lot of shade. WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?!?!? Decades later the shallow root systems are breaking the concrete sidewalks, the limbs are constantly being trimmed back to be kept out of the power lines, the trees are reproducing on their own and spreading everywhere. Of course bringing in the native Silver Maples was no solution either as they grew too fast, became brittle, prone to rot in the trunks, susceptible to high winds... Then of course everybody has to have a Japanese Maple yard tree to keep up with the Jones's with their cookie cutter lawn layout...I yanked about 20 of those little sprouts from my lawn this morning. The culprit neighbor's tree right across the street. Don't even get me started on the Paperbark Maple that doesn't belong here either
Silver maple is a very popular yard tree in my area. Fast growing. Seldom do you find any growing "wild" unless they seed themselves on property lines in urban areas. Same holds true for Norway maple. I dont take silver unless a very easy scrounge and its decent wood...no rot or gnarly etc. Same with Norway which i actually like as it splits the easiest and dries in a year. Comparable to ash IMO.
Eric Schamell I get it my grandfather and his 6 brothers all sugar makers.. so you had to be able to identify sugar maples in February in 4 feet of snow. You can tap reds but make darker syrup a HUGE no no for candies and sugar on snow
