For the location of the tree, I picked one close to the entrance of Cenntenial Woods. I found a small red maple tree growing on the ground I decided to use it for my observations because I was able to get a better look at the buds. To identify the tree as a red maple I looked at the terminal buds, side buds, and the color of the branches If I had chosen an older tree I also could have used the bark to make identifying easier. This was a Red Maple and not one of its winter look-alikes, the Norway maple or sugar maple. The red color of the branch differentiates it from a sugar maple and the size of the terminal buds is larger than a Norway maple. as a result of picking a small tree, I’m wondering how quickly the buds will grow compared to a larger red maple.
March 27, 2023
The picture here is slightly blurry, my camera couldn’t focus well enough on the stem and this was the best shot I got. The buds are about the same size as the last time I visited this little tree, I was hoping for a little bit more growth but hopefully by the next time I visit it. I wish I had taken a ruler with me to measure the buds to see if they did change or not. It was nice to come back to the site and try and find the same tree since it was smaller and not super eye-catching but it made it a little more fun. It was also nice to have some sunny weather and to see some of the snow melting. The image on the far right was a screenshot of the iNaturalist page showing other Red Maple observations in the area.