I can see maple branches, with lateral buds protected by three or more scales …

with …

buds=white-woolly, twigs=green with whitish bloom, ⬮ leaf scars[?] meet around stem, 🚁︎ samara helicopter fruit stays over entire dormant season
boxelder maple  Acer negundo

OR they are NOT, but with …

terminal buds that are …
usually > 6 mm (¼ in) long;  sap=milky
🇳🇴 🍁︎ Norway maple  Acer platanoides

OR they are NOT, but with …

buds=brown, new growth on twigs=brown or gray, and …
twigs=dull,   straw-colored, usually hairy;  buds=​hairy
◼︎ 🍁︎ black maple  Acer nigrum

twigs=glossy, buff or red-brown, hairless;  buds=​hairless (or only at apex)
🍬︎🍁︎ sugar maple  Acer saccharum

-or-

buds=red or green, new growth on twigs=red, and …
twigs=bright chestnut-brown;  branch tips curve upward
◼︎ 🍁︎ silver maple  Acer saccharinum

twigs=red;         branch tips do not curve upward
◼︎ 🍁︎ red maple  Acer rubrum

Navigate to pages that link here

🏠︎ maple branches  genus Acer

🍬︎🍁︎ sugar maple  Acer saccharum

logo of I Can See Nature!

  --I Can See Nature! web branchesMapleBudScale3.html v1.0.8.5 2023-02-06, copyright © 2015-2023 by I Can See Nature, LLC.