Maple
| Wood type | Hardwood |
| Environmental | Not listed in CITES. Believed available from well-managed sources. Check certification status with suppliers. |
| Introduction | The Aceraceae family includes some ten species of the genus Acer found in North America, but of these, only about five species are important sources of maple timber; two of these produce rock maple and these are given below. Acer saccharum Marsh. produces rock maple, hard maple or sugar maple. A. nigrum Michx f. produces black maple, rock or hard maple. |
| Distribution | Found generally in Canada and eastern USA. |
| The Tree | A. saccharum and A. nigrum grow to a height of 27m or more and a diameter of 0.5m to 0.75m. |
| The Timber | Hard maple is strong, heavy, hard, straight-grained and fine textured. The heartwood is light reddish-brown with deeper-coloured late-wood bands. The sapwood is white in colour, and furnishes the white maple prized for certain uses. It differs mainly from the soft maples in its greater density and firmer texture. |
| Drying | All types dry without undue difficulty but rather slowly, particularly rock maple. |
| Strength | Compared with European beech, rock maple is about equal in bending strength and in compression along the grain. and some 1 5 to 20 per cent superior in hardness, resistance to shock loads and resistance to splitting. |
| Working Qualities | Medium – Medium |
| Durability | Slightly durable |
| Treatability | Difficult |
| Moisture Movement |
Medium |
| Abrasions | Very Good |
| Density (mean, Kg/m³) |
740 |
| Texture | Fine |
| Availability | Regular |
| Price | Low to medium |
| Chemical Properties | High resistance to abbrasion |
| Use(s) | Sports goods, Furniture, Flooring |
| Colour(s) | White/cream |