Is this in fact chalk maple?

[Lanier_Lurker]

Here is a better pic of a maple like the one that was the victim of the grape vine in http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=25993.0

Dodgy Loner had originally tagged it as chalk maple.



 

[WDH]

Based on Dodgy Loner's convergent lobe theory () and the drooping tips, I would think so. 

Are leaf undersides a fuzzy yellowish green or are they pale white and mostly smooth?  Chalk maple should have a velure-like texture with a yellowish color on the leaf underside.

[Dodgy Loner]

Hmmm...I'm kind of leaning to Florida maple on that one.  The lobes look pretty divergent to me.  That's not the same plant as the last one, is it?  Florida and chalk maple have an annoying habit of growing side-by-side (and occasionally hybridizing) in the GA Piedmont.  WDH mentioned the easiest way to tell them apart - if the underside of the leaf is really fuzzy (almost like velvet) it's a chalk maple.  If they have a whitish bloom that you can smudge with your fingers, it's Florida maple.

[WDH]

Lets also put the drooping tip to the test that I read about.  Several of those are droopy, so lets see if it is a chalk or florida maple.  A good examination of the underside is in order.

[Lanier_Lurker]

The underside of the leaf does not seem to be any fuzzier than the topside.  It is also a slightly lighter green color.

This is not the same plant currently under attack by the grape vine in http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=25993.0.

But to my eye there is no difference, and the same observations about the leaf apply to the maple shown in that other post.

I'll post some additional pictures.

[Lanier_Lurker]

Ok, here are a couple of more pictures.

If the underside of the leaf is fuzzy, it is barely detectable.  Using a house paint analogy, the topside of the leaf is semi-gloss, and the underside is matte.

Although the first pic is blurry, you can see that the petioles are a reddish color.


 



The second pic is a bit washed out by the flash, but some of the leaf details are clearer.  I seem to be having a difficult time getting good pictures of these trees.

 


It is possible that these are silver maple?  I am right on the edge of their natural range.

I'm so confoosed.  The most likely candidate seems to be Acer barbatum floridanum.  I need to see if I can find an adult tree.

[DanG]

I don't know nuttin about this, but I wouldn't put too much stock in the "droopy tip" theory right now.  Around my place, everything that has a tip is droopy.

[Lanier_Lurker]

 

 

Notice he says that at about 10:30 on a Friday night!! 

[WDH]

100% sure it is not silver maple.  Silver maple is a soft maple with teeth on the lobes.  It is either southern sugar maple (Acer barbatum, also called Acer saccharum var. floridanum, sometimes called florida maple) or chalk maple (Acer leucoderme). 

I think that it is chalk maple from your description since southern sugar maple is whitish on the underside.

Sorry, DanG, that everything is droopy down your way.  Rain, please come .

[Dodgy Loner]

Yep they're definitely either Florida maple or chalk maple, but I'm leaning to Florida maple at this point.  If they were chalk maples, the velvety fuzz on the underside would leave little doubt, but as we all know, seedlings display odd characteristics not often found in adults.  Finding a mature specimen would remove all doubt.  There's gotta be one nearby - those seedlings must be coming from somewhere.

[Lanier_Lurker]

Ok, I wandered around and found some mature trees that appear to be the same species.

The first two pictures are of one tree.

 

 



The last picture is of another tree.

 


Neither of these tress is very large.  Their dbh is 7 or 8 inches.  But, I guess they have reached reproductive age.

[WDH]

It is either chalk maple or florida maple  .

I leaning to florida maple too.  The bark is a little grayer than I am used to seeing, however.

[Lanier_Lurker]

Well DanG-it, I guess you and DL are just gonna have to stop by here sometime and take a closer look at these things.  Maybe we can update the thread with more info and pictures at that time.  These subtleties are beyond my (and my camera's) ability.  And, you would find plenty of other flora to check out.

Based on what I have heard here and read elsewhere, I am leaning towards Florida Maple.

I didn't get around to telling you two yet that I am a BIG GEORGIA fan.  While I did not attend, both my father and sister did.  My father got his Agronomy degree there in the 50s and my little sister got an Ag Econ. degree there in the 80s.  I also have numerous friends and acquaintances who are UGA graduates.

Once Labor Day gets here, I will become fixated on college football - which over the past few years has become just about the only spectator sport I care anything about.  (I'll refrain from getting into any UGA-UF stuff in this thread and save it for the General Board).   

By the way: DL, do you know Cecil Jennings over on in the fishery section of Warnell?

[WDH]

I didn't get around to telling you two yet that I am a BIG GEORGIA fan. 

     G

LL, we are kindred spirits .  I would love to come and see your place. 

[Dodgy Loner]

It's settled, then.  WDH and I will have to come check out those enigmatic maples.

It'll have to be before football season, because it doesn't sound like either one of us will have many free weekends then