The Rock Maple is distinguished from the red maple by its larger leaves,
which are entire at the margin, and not serrate, having generally three
lobes, sometimes five, separated by a smooth sinus instead of a notch.
The flowers are greenish, and come out at the same time with the
foliage. This tree is larger than any of the other species, it has a
more vigorous growth, and affords a denser shade, but it is difficult to
distinguish them when divested of their leaves. It is the most abundant
species in all the North-eastern States, including the British
Provinces, where it serves more than any other tree, except the white
pine, to give character to the wood-scenery. It is rare in Eastern
Massachusetts, and is not found below this latitude, except among the
Alleghanies.
Dr. Rush, speaking of this tree, remarks: “These trees are generally
found mixed with the beech, hemlock, ash, linden, aspen, butternut, and
wild cherry-trees. They sometimes appear in groves, covering five or six
acres in a body; but they are more commonly interspersed with some or
all of the forest trees above mentioned. From thirty to fifty trees are
generally found upon an acre of land.” Major Strickland says of it: “The
Sugar Maple is probably the most common tree among the hard-wood species
of Canada West. It is found generally in groves of from five to twenty
acres; these are called by the settlers sugar-bushes, and few farms are
without them.”
Though I consider the red maple a more beautiful tree, having more
variety in its ramification, and a greater range of hues in its autumnal
dress, than the Rock Maple, it must be confessed that the latter
surpasses it in some important qualities. The Rock Maple has a deeper
green foliage in summer, and is generally more brilliant in its autumnal
tints, which, on account of the tenacity of its foliage, last from a
week to ten days after the red maple has dropped all its leaves.