diffuse porous page

DIFFUSE POROUS MAPLE

NOTE: unless otherwise specifically stated, all of the images shown on this
page are of 1/4" square end grain cross sections shown at 12X with the top
of the image towards the bark and the bottom towards the pith so that
earlywood is towards the bottom of the growth rings and latewood is towards the top

to see all species with links to their anatomy page go here: species links

general characteristics of maple end grain

• pores: so tiny they are generally not distinguishable even with a 10X loupe
• parenchyma: marginal parenchyma usually obvious
• rays: always present but frequently so faint as to be invisible even with a 10X loupe. Reportedly, only hedge maple / Acer campestrie is distinguishable from other maples based on seeing the rays in end grain cross section. Even the classes of hard and soft maple cannot reliably be distinguished by ray size although as a rough rule, hard maples tend to have slightly larger rays. In all maples, the largest rays are only as thick as the largest pores. Hoadley says hard and soft maples can usually be distinguished from each other by looking at the ray end in tangential cross section but I am not familiar with that and in any event, it is not completely reliable.
• growth rings: boundaries are thin lines (marginal parenchyma), sometimes with slightly darker areas at the end of the latewood and usually discernible to the naked eye but may be very hard to see even with a 10X loupe. They tend to have a higher ring count in hard maples than in soft maples, but that is not guaranteed


• NOTE: According to Richter and Dallwitz, speaking about maple: "There is no safe way of differentiating the various species based on microscopic features"

   

• amur maple / Acer tataricum --- growth ring boundaries so vague as to be almost invisible and rays are very faint
• amur maple / Acer tataricum var ginnala --- high ring count, growth rings vague, rays very vague but visible

     

     

   

• Norway maple / Acer platanoides
• Norway maple / Acer platanoides
• Norway maple / Acer platanoides


• Norway maple / Acer platanoides
• Norway maple / Acer platanoides
• Norway maple / Acer platanoides --- very faint growth ring boundaries and with rays that are visible with a 10X loupe but probably would not be to the naked eye



• Norway maple / Acer platanoides --- these two are from nearby areas of the same sample
• Norway maple / Acer platanoides --- these two are from nearby areas of the same sample

     

   

• bigleaf maple / Acer macrophyllum --- 1/4" x 1/2" cross section shown here at 6X and with moderately visible growth ring boundaries and no visible rays. Note that the number of growth rings on this is much less (about 3/inch) than on the hard maples, which is consistent with the general comments at the top of the page
• bigleaf maple / Acer macrophyllum
• bigleaf maple / Acer macrophyllum


• bigleaf maple / Acer macrophyllum
• broadleaf maple / Acer spp. --- 1/4" x 1/3" cross section shown here at 9X and with rays that are exceptionally clear with a 10X loupe but that are so thin they would be invisible to the naked eye. Note that the number of growth rings on this is much less (about 2.5/inch) than on hard maple, which is consistent with the general comments at the top of the page

     

• bigleaf maple / Acer macrophyllum
• bigleaf maple / Acer macrophyllum
• bigleaf maple / Acer macrophyllum --- a pretty poor image. Not sure if it's out of focus or I did a bad job on processing the sample

     

• bigleaf maple / Acer macrophyllum
• bigleaf maple / Acer macrophyllum
• bigleaf maple / Acer spp. with slightly thicker than usual rays

   

• Japanese maple (aka diamondbark maple) / Acer rufinerve --- clear growth ring boundaries with an area of dark tissue at the end of the latewood and no visible rays
• Japanese maple (aka diamondbark maple) / Acer rufinerve --- clear growth ring boundaries

 

     

• Douglas maple / Acer glabrum --- fairly faint growth ring boundaries, with an area of dark tissue at the end of the latewood and no visible rays


• Douglas maple / Acer glabrum var douglasii --- heartwood of a piece
• Douglas maple / Acer glabrum var douglasii --- sapwood of the same piece
• Douglas maple / Acer glabrum var douglasii

   

• Florida maple / Acer barbatum --- growth ring boundaries and rays that are both clearly visible with a 10X loupe but the rays might not be to the naked eye. This sample has about 20 rings/inch which is on the high side for maple.
• Florida maple / Acer barbatum --- growth ring boundaries and rays that are both clearly visible with a 10X loupe but the rays might not be to the naked eye. This sample has about 24 rings/inch which is on the high side for maple.

     

• hard maple / Acer saccharum --- growth ring boundaries hard to see
• hard (sugar) maple / Acer saccharum --- vague growth ring boundaries and rays that are visible with a 10X loupe but might not be to the naked eye because the color is so close to that of the surrounding tissue
• hard (sugar) maple / Acer saccharum

     

• hard (sugar) maple / Acer saccharum
• hard (sugar) maple / Acer saccharum
• hard (sugar) maple / Acer saccharum

     

• hard (sugar) maple / Acer saccharum
• hard (sugar) maple / Acer saccharum
• hard (sugar) maple / Acer saccharum --- VERY weird; rays are at an obvious angle to the growth rings

   

• hard (sugar) maple / Acer saccharum
• hard (sugar) maple / Acer saccharum --- growth ring boundaries very vague

     

• black maple / Acer saccharum --- faint growth ring boundaries visible with a 10X loupe but are likely to be hard to see with the naked eye
• black maple / Acer saccharum
• black maple / Acer saccharum

   

• canyon maple / Acer saccharum --- particularly fat rays for maple but pretty much invisible to the naked eye because the color is so similar to the surrounding tissue
• canyon maple / Acer saccharum --- particularly fat rays for maple but pretty much invisible to the naked eye because the color is so similar to the surrounding tissue

     

• hard maple / Acer spp.
• hard maple / Acer spp.
• hard maple / Acer spp. --- a 1/4" x 5/12" cross section shown here at 7X

     

• hedge maple / Acer campestrie --- this species is known for having very narrow rays that are not ever likely to be visible with a 10X loupe and certainly not to the naked eye. Growth ring boundaries are very clear, with a dark area at the end of the latewood
• hedge maple / Acer campestrie
• European field maple / Acer campestrie --- particularly weak growth ring boundaries

   

• Japanese maple / Acer palmatum --- very vague growth ring boundaries and larger than usual rays that are clearly visible with a 10X loupe but probably wouldn't be to the naked eye
• Japanese maple / Acer palmatum

     

 
Acer spicatum --- I note that in all of these the rays are pretty much invisible at 10X

• mountain maple / Acer spicatum --- growth ring boundaries are fairly clear, with a dark area at the end of the latewood
• mountain maple / Acer spicatum --- growth ring boundaries vague
• mountain maple / Acer spicatum


• mountain maple / Acer spicatum

     

     

• red maple / Acer rubrum --- pretty clear growth ring boundaries thanks to a dark tissue area at the end of the latewood. Rays are almost invisible with a 10X loupe and certainly would be invisible to the naked eye
• red maple / Acer rubrum --- a lightening of color as you move from the beginning to the end of the growth rings, so the boundaries are easily seen. Rays are fairly clear with a 10X loupe but likely to be invisible to the naked eye
• red maple / Acer rubrum


• red maple / Acer rubrum
• red maple / Acer rubrum
• red maple / Acer rubrum

     

• soft (silver) maple / Acer saccharinum --- 1/4" x 5/12" cross section show here at 7X has very faint growth ring boundaries, pores that are almost invisible, and no visible rays. Note that the number of growth rings on this is much less (about 3/inch) than on the hard maples, which is consistent with the general comments at the top of the page
• soft (silver) maple / Acer saccharinum --- sharp growth ring boundaries with a line of dark tissue at the end of the latewood and extremely faint rays at 10X
• soft (silver) maple / Acer saccharinum --- extremely faint rays at 10X

     

• soft (silver) maple / Acer saccharinum --- very faint growth ring boundaries, rays faint but visible at 10X, ring count about 5/inch
• soft (silver) maple / Acer saccharinum --- a 1/4" x 1/3" cross section shown here at 9X, growth ring boundaries very indistinct to the point where it's hard to see just how many rings/inch there are
• soft (silver) maple / Acer saccharinum --- the sample had "mistletoe burl" figure

     

• soft maple / Acer saccharinum --- very sharp, visible growth ring boundaries, high ring count
• soft maple / Acer saccharinum --- very sharp, visible growth ring boundaries, medium ring count
• soft maple / Acer spp. --- very faint growth ring boundaries, rays that are very clear at this magnification, very low ring count (4/inch); I'm guessing that this is red maple / Acer rubrum but I could be wrong

   

   

• vine maple / Acer circinatum
• vine maple / Acer circinatum --- a rather poor job of end grain sanding, but this does show much stronger rays than the other sample and based on the face grain, I'm pretty confident that this IS vine maple



• vine maple / Acer circinatum --- strong rays but vague growth ring boundaries
• vine maple / Acer circinatum --- rays and growth ring boundaries are both vague but discernible at 10X

   

   

• striped maple / Acer pensylvanicum --- rays invisible even at 10X
• striped maple / Acer pensylvanicum --- rays invisible even at 10X


• striped maple / Acer pensylvanicum --- an unusually wide, light-colored area at the start of the earlywood that makes the growth ring boundaries quite visible. Rays barely visible at 10X. This sample has about 16 rings/inch which is on the high side for maple.
• striped maple / Acer pensylvanicum --- verges on semi diffuse porous, sharp growth ring boundaries with a line of dark tissue at the end of the latewood and rays are almost invisible because of being the same color as the surrounding tissue. This area of this sample is from very near the pith and has about 25 rings/inch

     

• Asian maple / Acer caudatum var ukurunduense --- a 1/4" x 1/3" cross section shown here at 9X; high ring count, growth rings vague and barely visible to the naked eye, rays barely visible at 10X
• Asian maple / Acer caudatum var ukurunduense --- a 1/3" x 5/12" cross section shown here at 7X --- rays barely visible at 10X
• maple, bigtooth / Acer grandidentatum var sinuosu --- very heavy rays, growth rings somewhat vague, high ring count

     

• maple / Acer spp. --- this pic is slightly out of focus
• maple / Acer spp.
• maple / Acer spp.

     

• maple / Acer spp.
• maple / Acer spp.
• maple / Acer spp.

   

• maple / Acer spp. --- these two are from nearby areas of the same piece of bear claw maple
• maple / Acer spp. --- these two are from nearby areas of the same piece of bear claw maple and this one shows the indented grain

   

• harewood / Acer pseudoplatanus
• harewood / Acer pseudoplatanus --- the reason this is so dark is that this sample is "gray phase" maple; see the main site's harewood page for a discussion

   

• Chinese striped maple / Acer davidii
• Chinese striped maple / Acer davidii --- a 1/4" x 1/3" cross section shown here at 9X

---

box elder / Acer negundo: note that this is a maple but it is not generally CALLED maple. It generally has vaguer growth ring boundaries and sparser pores than some maples.

     

   

     

• box elder / Acer negundo --- a 3/8" x 1/4" cross section shown here at 8x
• box elder / Acer negundo
• box elder / Acer negundo


• box elder / Acer negundo --- flamed area of a piece
• box elder / Acer negundo --- non-flamed area of the same piece


• box elder / Acer negundo
• box elder / Acer negundo
• box elder / Acer negundo