Online Hardwood Guide

Ian Gillis

Member
Messages
443
Location
Nova Scotia's beautiful south shore
Hi

I came across a site put up by the Hardwood Manufacturers Association. They have a species guide to domestic North American hardwoods. It's not very in depth, but it packs a lot if info into a short article on our common hardwoods.

Species Guide

There's also a section called Design Values which I haven't read, but it also looks interesting.
 
Thanks for the link, Ian.

Looking thru the species reminds me of a question I've had about maple. The guide lists hard maple as 'Acer saccharinum' or 'A. nigrum' and soft maple as 'A. rubrum' or 'A. saccharinum'.

So my question...

How come 'A. saccharinum' is both hard and soft maple? Different parts of tree (heart vs. sap)?
 
So my question...

How come 'A. saccharinum' is both hard and soft maple? Different parts of tree (heart vs. sap)?

That's a mystery to me. I always figured A. saccharinum (sugar maple) was the hardest of the maples. The big lumber yard around here doesn't sell any soft maple, but they do separate the hard maple into 2 bunks - maple heart and maple sap. I have always assumed that this was because of the colour only. Sapwood for clear finishes and heartwood for paint grade.

I'll see if I can find out anything more about this.
 
Maple

You are clearly not confused enough yet, try this http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/ and as I described above type in Maple.

Regis B. Miller
Center for Wood Anatomy Research
Forest Products Laboratory
Jugo Ilic
Forestry and Forest Products
USDA

hammock maple Acer barbatum Michx. Acer floridanum (Chapman) Pax Aceraceae Mexico
southern sugar maple Acer barbatum Michx. Acer floridanum (Chapman) Pax Aceraceae Mexico
sugar maple Acer barbatum Michx. Acer floridanum (Chapman) Pax Aceraceae Mexico
maple Acer caesium (Reinw. ex Blume) Kosterm. Acer laurinum Hassk.
Acer niveum Bl. Aceraceae India
maple Acer caesium (Reinw. ex Blume) Kosterm. Acer laurinum Hassk.
Acer niveum Bl. Aceraceae Pakistan
Philippine maple Acer caesium (Reinw. ex Blume) Kosterm. Acer laurinum Hassk.
Acer niveum Bl. Aceraceae Philippines
Chinese maple Acer campbellii subsp. flabellatum (Rehder) Murray Aceraceae China
Chinese maple Acer campbellii subsp. sinense (Pax) DeJong Aceraceae China
field maple Acer campestre L. Aceraceae Eastern China
field maple Acer campestre L. Aceraceae Japan
hedge maple Acer campestre L. Aceraceae Eastern China
hedge maple Acer campestre L. Aceraceae Japan
common maple Acer campestre L. Aceraceae Europe
dyed maple Acer campestre L. Aceraceae Europe
European maple Acer campestre L. Aceraceae Europe
field maple Acer campestre L. Aceraceae Europe
hedge maple Acer campestre L. Aceraceae Europe
Sylvan maple Acer campestre L. Aceraceae United Kingdom
field maple Acer campestre L. Aceraceae USA
great maple Acer campestre L. Aceraceae USA
hedge maple Acer campestre L. Aceraceae USA
Norway maple Acer campestre L. Aceraceae USA
Japanese maple Acer capillipes Maxim. Aceraceae Japan
hornbeam maple Acer carpinifolium Siebold & Zucc. Aceraceae Japan
Japanese maple Acer carpinifolium Siebold & Zucc. Aceraceae Japan
Korean maple Acer caudatum subsp. ukurunduense (Trautv. & May.) Murray Aceraceae Korea
mountain maple Acer circinatum Pursh Aceraceae USA
vine maple Acer circinatum Pursh Aceraceae USA
Japanese maple Acer cissifolium (Siebold & Zucc.) C.Koch Aceraceae Japan
China maple Acer davidii Franch. Aceraceae China
China maple Acer davidii subsp. grosseri (Pax) DeJong Aceraceae China
Russian maple Acer ginnala Maxim. Aceraceae Eastern Asia
ginnala maple Acer ginnala Maxim. Aceraceae Germany
bark maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae USA
California mountain maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae USA
Douglas maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae USA
dwarf maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae North America
dwarf maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae USA
maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae USA
mountain maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae USA
New Mexico maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae USA
red maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae North America
Rocky Mountain maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae USA
Rocky Mountains maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae Canada
Rocky Mountains maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae USA
shrubby maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae USA
Sierra maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae USA
soft maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae USA
California mountain maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae Mexico
Douglas maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae Mexico
dwarf maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae Mexico
mountain maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae Mexico
New Mexico maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae Mexico
Sierra maple Acer glabrum Torr. Aceraceae Mexico
bigtooth maple Acer grandidentatum Nutt. Aceraceae USA
canyon maple Acer grandidentatum Nutt. Aceraceae USA
hard maple Acer grandidentatum Nutt. Aceraceae USA
large-toothed maple Acer grandidentatum Nutt. Aceraceae USA
maple Acer grandidentatum Nutt. Aceraceae USA
sugar maple Acer grandidentatum Nutt. Aceraceae USA
Uvalde bigtooth maple Acer grandidentatum Nutt. Aceraceae USA
western sugar maple Acer grandidentatum Nutt. Aceraceae USA
bigtooth maple Acer grandidentatum Nutt. Aceraceae Mexico
sugar maple Acer grandidentatum Nutt. Aceraceae Mexico
Uvalde bigtooth maple Acer grandidentatum Nutt. Aceraceae Mexico
Florida maple Acer grandidentatum var. sinuosum (Rehder) Little Acer brachypterum Woot. & Standl.
Acer floridanum (Chapman) Pax Aceraceae USA
hammock maple Acer grandidentatum var. sinuosum (Rehder) Little Acer brachypterum Woot. & Standl.
Acer floridanum (Chapman) Pax Aceraceae USA
southern sugar maple Acer grandidentatum var. sinuosum (Rehder) Little Acer brachypterum Woot. & Standl.
Acer floridanum (Chapman) Pax Aceraceae USA
sugar maple Acer grandidentatum var. sinuosum (Rehder) Little Acer brachypterum Woot. & Standl.
Acer floridanum (Chapman) Pax Aceraceae USA
paperback maple Acer griseum (Franch.) Pax Aceraceae China
balkans- maple Acer heldreichii Orph. ex Boiss. Aceraceae Europe
Balkan maple Acer hyrcanum Fisch. & C.A.Mey. Aceraceae Greece
Japanese maple Acer japonicum Thunb. ex Murray Aceraceae Japan
Chinese maple Acer laevigatum Wall. Aceraceae China
chalk maple Acer leucoderme Small Aceraceae USA
palebark maple Acer leucoderme Small Aceraceae USA
sugar maple Acer leucoderme Small Aceraceae USA
whitebark maple Acer leucoderme Small Aceraceae USA
whitebark maple Acer leucoderme Small Aceraceae Mexico
Italian maple Acer lobelii Ten. Aceraceae Italy
Chinese maple Acer longipes subsp. catalpifolium (Rehder) DeJong Acer catalpifolium Rehder Aceraceae China
Manchurian maple Acer mandshuricum Maxim. Aceraceae China
Manchurian maple Acer mandshuricum Maxim. Aceraceae Korea
Japanese maple Acer maximowiczianum Miq. Acer nikoense Maxim. Aceraceae China
Japanese maple Acer maximowiczianum Miq. Acer nikoense Maxim. Aceraceae Japan
Japanese maple Acer mono Maxim. Aceraceae China
Japanese maple Acer mono Maxim. Aceraceae Japan
Manchurian maple Acer mono Maxim. Aceraceae China
Manchurian maple Acer mono Maxim. Aceraceae Japan
China maple Acer monspessulanum L. Aceraceae Mediterranean Region
Japanese maple Acer monspessulanum L. Aceraceae Mediterranean Region
ash-leaf maple Acer negundo L. Aceraceae United Kingdom
ash-leaved maple Acer negundo L. Aceraceae United Kingdom
Manitoba maple Acer negundo L. Aceraceae United Kingdom
ash maple Acer negundo L. Aceraceae USA
ash-leaf maple Acer negundo L. Aceraceae USA
ash-leaved maple Acer negundo L. Aceraceae North America
boxelder maple Acer negundo L. Aceraceae USA
cut-leaved maple Acer negundo L. Aceraceae USA
Manitoba maple Acer negundo L. Aceraceae Canada
 
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Interesting indeed. I've already seen A saccharinum under the common name "sugar maple" - definitely hard, but also "silver maple" which I know only as an ornamental species in this part of the world - and definitely soft.

Is there a dendrologist in the house ?? ;)
 
Interesting indeed. I've already seen A saccharinum under the common name "sugar maple" - definitely hard, but also "silver maple" which I know only as an ornamental species in this part of the world - and definitely soft.

Okay, that was simply wrong. Sugar maple is A. [FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA]saccharum and silver maple is A. [/FONT]saccharinum. Grade 9 latin was a looong time ago - and I only took it to be in the class with the good-looking girls ;)

I was hoping to find a list of species and their commercial names. I came up blank. I know I've seen such lists, but I guess they were in books.

I did find a series of species profiles (USDA, Forest Service) which note alternate names and commercial uses of particular species.

USDA/FS Trees commonly found in American forests - Hardwoods

A couple of 'highlights':

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum), sometimes called hard maple or rock maple, is one of the largest and more important of the hardwoods. It grows on approximately 12.5 million hectares (31 million acres) or 9 percent of the hardwood land and has a net volume of about 130 million m3 (26 billion fbm) or 6 percent of the hardwood sawtimber volume in the United States. The greatest commercial volumes are presently in Michigan, New York, Maine, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania (53). In most regions, both the sawtimber and growing stock volumes are increasing, with increased production of saw logs,
pulpwood, and more recently, firewood.


Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) is a medium-sized tree of short bole and quickly branching crown common in the Eastern United States where it is also called soft maple, river maple, silverleaf maple, swamp maple, water maple, and white maple. It is found on stream banks, flood plains, and lake edges where it grows best on better-drained, moist alluvial soils. Growth is rapid in both pure and mixed stands and the tree may live 130 years or more. Silver maple is cut and sold with red maple (A. rubrum) as soft maple lumber.

And finally from the Ohio Public Library Info Network - bless um!

What Tree is it?

Search by common or scientific name.

Ain't you glad that the lumber yard doesn't label everything by species ??
I sure am !! :bonkers:
 
Okay, that was simply wrong. Sugar maple is A. [FONT=ARIAL,HELVETICA]saccharum and silver maple is A. [/FONT]saccharinum. Grade 9 latin was a looong time ago - and I only took it to be in the class with the good-looking girls ;)

Ain't you glad that the lumber yard doesn't label everything by species ??
I sure am !! :bonkers:

Now I see my mistake! :doh: Saccharum vs. saccharinum -- it's all in the 'in'. So they are two distinct species, I just can't read for comprehension any more! :bang:

Perhaps I need more :coffee:
 
Now I see my mistake! Saccharum vs. saccharinum -- it's all in the 'in'. So they are two distinct species, I just can't read for comprehension any more! :bang:

Take it easy on the brickwork, the mortar hasn't had time to cure yet ;)

It took me a while to figure it out when it was right under my nose too. This latin stuff is good for science, but it only hurts my head :doh:

We both learned something today and that's a good thing :thumb:
 
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