What Is a Hard Maple?

Identification

• Hard maple is sometimes used as a term for sugar maple (Acer saccharum). It is also occasionally called rock maple, and refers to the density of this hardwood, one of the most important timbers in the logging industry. A species of the maple (Aceraceae) family, hard maple grows prolifically across a significant portion of the U.S. ranging from New England to Tennessee and as far west as Kansas.

Syrup

• The hard maple tree -- or sugar maple -- is the chief source of maple syrup. The tree is tapped early in the spring to collect the flow of sap, then boiled and evaporated to produce maple syrup. The tree does not give up its bounty easily; 34 gallons of sap are required to make 1 gallon of syrup or 8 pounds of maple sugar.

Size and Soil

• The sugar maple is an ornamental tree that grows to between 60 and 75 feet in height with a canopy spread of 40 to 50 feet. It is considered to be a slow-to-medium grower which, according to the Arbor Day Foundation, denotes a tree that grows between 13 and 24 inches annually. The tree appreciates full sunshine and grows into an oval shape, while enjoying deep, rich, well-drained acidic or slightly alkalinic soil.

Uses

• Renowned for its dark green leaves that turn yellow, orange or red in the fall, the hard maple is also valued as a beautiful wood for fine furniture and a flooring product due to its hardness. The sturdiness of the wood has lent itself to everything from ax handles to baseball bats to bowling pins. The sugar maple is also used as a fine firewood due to its propensity to give off extreme heat while offering few sparks.