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Acer spp. |
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Family: Aceraceae |
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Maple |
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Maple (Acer spp.) contains about
120 species native to Asia [16], North America [13],
Mexico and Guatemala [1], and the European/Mediterranean region [6], with the
rest in Eurasia, Malaysia and northern Africa. The Maples can be separated into
two groups based on the ray widths of their microscopic anatomy, the soft maple
group and the hard maple group. Species within each group look alike
microscopically. Acer is the classical Latin name of maple.
Acer barbatum- hammock maple, Florida maple, southern sugar maple,
sugar maple
Acer circinatum- vine maple, mountain maple
Acer glabrum-bark maple, California
mountain maple, Douglas maple, dwarf maple, mountain maple, New Mexico maple, rocky mountain maple, shrubby maple, sierra
maple, soft maple
Acer grandidentatum- bigtooth maple, canyon maple, hard maple,
large-toothed maple, sugar maple, ultravioletalde bigtooth maple, western sugar
maple
Acer leucoderm-chalk maple, palebark maple, sugar
maple, whitebark maple
Acer macrophyllum*- big-leaf, bigleaf maple, broadleaf maple,
broadleaved maple, bugleaf maple, Californian maple, Oregon maple, pacific
maple, white maple
Acer negundo*-?ash maple, ashleaf
maple, black ash, boxelder, boxelder maple, California boxelder,
cut-leaved maple, inland boxelder, manitoba maple, negundo maple, red river
maple, stinking ash, sugar ash, three-leaved maple, western boxelder
Acer nigrum*- black maple, black sugar maple,
hard maple, rock maple, sugar maple, white maple
Acer pennsylvaticum- buckwood, goose-foot
maple, moosewood, mountain alder, northern maple, Pennsylvanian maple, striped
dogwood, striped
maple,
whistlewood
Acer rubrum*-?Carolina red maple,
drummond maple, drummond red maple, Oregon maple, red maple, scarlet maple,
shoe-peg maple, silver maple, soft maple, southern soft maple, swamp maple,
three-pointed-leaf maple, three-toothed red maple, water maple, white maple
Acer saccharinum*- creek maple,
papascowood, river maple, silver maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, swamp maple,
water maple, white maple
Acer saccharum*- bird’s-eye maple,
black maple, curly maple, hard maple, rock maple, rough maple, sugar, sugar maple, sugar-tree, sweet
maple, thumb-nail maple
Acer spicatum-?goose-foot maple, low
maple, moose maple, mountain maple, mountain maple-bush, spiked maple, water maple
*commercial
species
Distribution:
Acer rubrum Acer saccharinum Acer
saccharum
Throughout most
of North America, with commercial species in the eastern United States and
Canada and the western coast of the United States (bigleaf maple).
The Tree
Maples grow to
heights of 120 ft (36 m), with a diameter of 3 ft (1 m). Forest grown trees may
have a clear bole of 60 ft (18 m).
The Wood
General
Acer rubrum 
Acer saccharinum 
Acer saccharum
Maple lumber
comes principally from the Middle Atlantic and Lake States, which together
account for about two-thirds of the production. The wood of sugar maple and
black maple is known as hard maple; that of silver maple, red maple, and
boxelder as soft maple. The sapwood of the maples is commonly white with a
slight reddish-brown tinge; the heartwood is light reddish brown, but sometimes
is considerably darker. The sapwood is from 3 to 5+ inches (76 to 127+ mm)
thick.
Hard maple has
a fine, uniform texture, turns well on a lathe, is resistant to abrasion and
has no characteristic odor or taste. It is heavy, strong, stiff, hard, and
resistant to shock, and it has large shrinkage. Sugar maple is generally
straight grained but the grain also occurs as "birds-eye,"
"curly," and "fiddleback" grain.
The wood of
soft maples resembles that of hard maples but is not as heavy, hard and strong,
the better grade of soft maple has been substituted for hard maple in
furniture. The sapwood in the soft maples is considerably wider than that in
the hard maples and has a lighter heartwood color.
Maple lumber
sometimes has olive or greenish black discolored areas known as mineral streak
or mineral stain, which may be due to injury. Maple wood stains well and takes
a high polish. It is intermediate in gluing and has low decay resistance.
Mechanical
Properties (2-inch standard)
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Compression |
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Specific gravity |
MOE GPa |
MOR MPa |
Parallel MPa |
Perpendicular MPa |
WMLa kJ/m3 |
Hardness N |
Shear MPa |
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Acer
macrophyllum (bigleaf maple) |
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Green |
0.44 |
7.6 |
51.0 |
22.3 |
3.10 |
60 |
2,758 |
7.65 |
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Dry |
0.48 |
10.0 |
73.8 |
41.0 |
5.17 |
54 |
3,781 |
11.93 |
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Acer nigrum (black
maple) |
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Green |
0.52 |
9.2 |
54.5 |
22.5 |
4.14 |
88 |
3,736 |
7.79 |
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Dry |
0.57 |
11.2 |
91.7 |
46.1 |
7.03 |
86 |
5,249 |
12.55 |
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Acer
pennsylvaticum (striped maple) |
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Green |
0.44 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
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Dry |
0.46 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
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Acer rubrum
(red maple) |
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Green |
0.49 |
9.6 |
53.1 |
22.6 |
2.76 |
79 |
3,114 |
7.93 |
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Dry |
0.54 |
11.3 |
92.4 |
45.1 |
6.89 |
86 |
4,226 |
12.75 |
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Acer
saccharinum (silver maple) |
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Green |
0.44 |
6.5 |
40.0 |
17.2 |
2.55 |
76 |
2,624 |
7.24 |
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Dry |
0.47 |
7.9 |
61.4 |
36.0 |
5.10 |
57 |
3,114 |
10.20 |
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Acer saccharum
(sugar maple) |
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Green |
0.56 |
10.7 |
64.8 |
27.7 |
4.41 |
92 |
4,315 |
10.07 |
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Dry |
0.63 |
12.6 |
108.9 |
54.0 |
10.14 |
114 |
6,450 |
16.06 |
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aWML = Work to maximum load.
bReference (98). cReference (59). |
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Drying and
Shrinkage
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Type of shrinkage |
Percentage of
shrinkage |
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0% MC |
6% MC |
20% MC |
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Acer
macrophyllum (bigleaf maple) |
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Tangential |
7.1 |
5.7 |
2.4 |
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Radial |
3.7 |
3.0 |
1.2 |
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Volumetric |
11.6 |
9.3 |
3.9 |
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Acer nigrum
(black maple) |
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Tangential |
9.3 |
7.4 |
3.1 |
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Radial |
4.8 |
3.8 |
1.6 |
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Volumetric |
14.0 |
11.2 |
4.7 |
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Acer
pennsylvaticum (striped maple) |
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Tangential |
8.6 |
— |
— |
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Radial |
43.2 |
— |
— |
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Volumetric |
12.3 |
— |
— |
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Acer rubrum
(red maple) |
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Tangential |
8.2 |
6.6 |
2.7 |
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Radial |
4.0 |
3.2 |
1.3 |
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Volumetric |
12.6 |
10.5 |
4.4 |
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Acer
saccharinum (silver maple) |
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Tangential |
7.2 |
5.8 |
2.4 |
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Radial |
3.0 |
2.4 |
1.0 |
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Volumetric |
12.0 |
9.6 |
4.0 |
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Acer saccharum
(sugar maple) |
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Tangential |
9.9 |
7.6 |
3.2 |
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Radial |
4.8 |
3.9 |
1.6 |
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Volumetric |
14.7 |
11.9 |
5.0 |
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aBirch
shrinks considerably during drying. References: 0% MC (98), |
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Kiln Drying
Schedulesa
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Condition |
4/4,5/4,6/4
stock |
8/4 stock |
10/4 stock |
12/4 stock |
16/4 stock |
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Soft maplesb |
NA |
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Hard maplesc |
Working
Properties: The wood turns well, is harder to work than softer woods, and has
high nail-holding ability. It stains and polishes well, but is intermediate in
gluing.
Durability:
Rated as slightly or nonresistant to heartwood decay.
Preservation: Moderately
resistant to penetration with preservatives.
Uses: : Lumber, distillation,
veneer, crossties, paper pulp, flooring, furniture, pallets, boxes and crates,
shoe lasts, handles, woodenware, novelties, spools and bobbins, bowling alleys,
dance floors, piano frames, bowling pins, cutting blocks, pulpwood and turnery.
Toxicity: May
cause allergic bronchial asthma, dermatitis and rhinitis (40).
Additional
Reading and References Cited (in parentheses)
5.?Betts, H.S.
1959. Maple. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
American Wood Series 496611-59.
6.?Boone, R.S.;
Kozlik, C.J.; Bois, P.J.; Wengert, E.M. 1988. Dry kiln schedules for commercial
woods-temperate
and tropical. Gen. Tech. Rep. FPL-GTR-57. Madison, WI: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory.
29.?Elias, T.S.
1980. The complete trees of North America, field guide and natural history. New
York: van Nostrand Reinhold Company.
40.?Hausen, B.M.
1981. Woods injurious to human health. A manual. New York: Walter de Gruyter.
55. ?Little,
Jr., E.L. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized).
Agric. Handb. 541. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service. U.S. Government Printing Office.
59. Markwardt,
L.J.; Wilson, T.R.C. 1935. Strength and related properties of woods grown in
the United States. Tech. Bull. 479. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. U.S. Government Printing Office.
68. Panshin,
A.J.; de Zeeuw, C. 1980. Textbook of wood technology, 4th ed. New York:
McGraw—Hill Book Co..
74. Record,
S.J.; Hess R.W. 1943. Timbers of the new world. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press.
86. Simpson,
W.T. 1991. Dry kiln operator's manual. Ag. Handb. 188. Madison, WI: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory.
90. Summitt, R.;
Sliker, A. 1980. CRC handbook of materials science. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press,
Inc. Vol. 4.
98. U.S.
Department of Agriculture. 1987. Wood handbook: wood as an engineering
material. Agric. Handb. 72. (Rev.) Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
466 p.