Identifying Process
I came upon this tree on the University of Vermont common grounds. I identified it as a red maple mostly due to its early bud development and the bark. The buds are red and already quite large in the last weeks of winter. The bark is grey and scaly. This tree is not a sugar maple because sugar maple buds and twigs are brown and the bark has deeper furrows. It is not a Norway maple because a Norway maple’s twigs are brown, buds are greenish purple, and bark is less scaly and more interlaced.
Location of the Red Maple
iNaturalist post
