It’s maple syrup season, the special part of the year when maple trees are tapped for their sweet sap. That sap is then collected and boiled down into syrup, candies, and other delicious products.

The best-known tree for this purpose is the sugar maple (Acer saccharum), but Massachusetts is also home to many other beautiful maple species.

Maple Tree Basics

Before heading outside to search for maple trees, there are a few useful characteristics to remember. One of the easiest clues is the arrangement of the branches. Maples have buds, leaves, and branches that grow in opposite pairs. Only a small number of other trees, such as ash and dogwood, have the same arrangement.

By combining this feature with clues such as the appearance of the bark and the type of habitat where the tree grows, you can often recognize a maple even when there are no leaves on the branches.

During maple season, you may also come across trees with buckets or other equipment collecting sap even though they are not sugar maples. Several other maple species can produce usable sap as well, although they are generally less favored for syrup production because their sap may be less sweet or available in smaller quantities.

Meet the Maples

Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)

Silver maple gets its name from the striking silvery color on the undersides of its deeply divided leaves. It is commonly found in floodplain environments, often growing near ostrich ferns that produce fiddleheads. It is also frequently planted along city streets.

Mature silver maples can reach approximately 70 feet in height and develop distinctive shaggy bark as they age.

Red Maple (Acer rubrum)

Red maple certainly earns its name because red appears throughout many parts of the tree. The leaf stems are red, the foliage often develops brilliant red colors in autumn, and the young twigs can also have a reddish appearance.

This species is exceptionally adaptable. Its natural range extends from Florida in the south to Quebec in the north. Red maples can grow in cities, upland forests, wetlands, swamps, and a wide variety of other environments.

Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum)

Mountain maple is a relatively small species that favors damp woodland environments. Its leaves are smaller and more deeply jagged than those of the striped maple.

The bark is generally brown, while the twigs have a reddish color. Its rugged appearance has sometimes led people to compare the tree to a tough mountain man.

Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)

Norway maple was introduced to North America from Europe and Asia. It is highly tolerant of challenging urban conditions, including pollution and periods of drought. However, its ability to thrive in disturbed environments has also made it problematic because its broad leaves create dense shade that can suppress native vegetation.

The bark features small ridges, providing another useful identification feature. There is also an unusual characteristic that becomes apparent when the leaves or stems are crushed: they release a milky white sap.

Many ornamental forms of Norway maple have been developed with different foliage colors. If you encounter a maple with dark purple or reddish-purple leaves, it is quite likely to be a Norway maple.

Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum)

Striped maple is a small tree with relatively large leaves divided into three distinct lobes. Its most recognizable characteristic is found on the bark of younger trees.

Young striped maples have attractive vertical markings in shades of green, gray, and brown, giving the trunks a striped appearance. This species is most often found in moist woodland areas.

Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)

Sugar maple is the preferred tree for producing maple syrup because its sap generally contains a greater concentration of sugar than the sap of other maple species. The sugar content is commonly around 2 percent, although it can differ from one tree to another and can also change throughout the season.

After the sap has been processed into maple syrup, the finished product typically contains approximately 66–67 percent sugar.

Maple Sugaring

As winter begins to fade, maple trees throughout Massachusetts can start producing sap when freezing nights are followed by milder daytime temperatures. These changing temperatures create the conditions that allow sap to move through the trees.

North America is home to 13 native maple species, although only four native species are commonly tapped for their sap: silver maple, red maple, black maple, and sugar maple. The introduced Norway maple can also be tapped for sap.

Massachusetts produces roughly 50,000–60,000 gallons of maple syrup each year. Producing a single gallon of finished syrup requires approximately 40–50 gallons of raw sugar maple sap, making the collection and boiling process a substantial seasonal undertaking.