Sugar Maples turn Red but Maple Trees of all Sorts Wanna be Red Too

Our ongoing discussion on Sugar maples has been elevated another notch, and here at Incoming Bytes  we enjoy clarification of facts, identification of species and other relevant questions that arise,
In  Sugar Maples do Turn Red  I included a couple of photos of leaves from genuine sugar maple trees that offer natural sap almost as  sweet as any corn syrup-- and they obviously turn red upon occasion if conditions are right.

In  the ongoing sugar-maple marathon, ( a sweet debate indeed)     the subject of Trident maples also came up.  Trident maples  have leaves displaying 3 (moderately sharp)  lobes also, see the pic including the muddy gardening-tree guy fingers?

Trident Maple leaf  and Muddy Fingers

Trident Maple Bonsai  in Training Pot

That single  leaf  from the photo is from a Trident, and they do turn red too --or at least they do in our location. 

The Bonsai trident in the second photo  was started from a cutting from  exactly the SAME  Trident maple tree in our yard  --and each year at this time, the bonsai  turns brilliant red.  In this photo,  you can see the colour was spectacular-- in the picture,the leaves  are already in fact-- quite faded!

Note that on the bonsai the tiny leaves (about a half inch long)    are much reduced in size compared to the full-sized tree leaf above, which can be  3" or longer.  If cared for properly the leaves on the bonsai tree --confined to the pot -- will become even smaller,
This species -with the exception of the relatively brittle wood-- is ideal for bonsai and the specimen is about 10 years old.    On the bonsai also  notice the similarity of colour of the bark to that of the REAL sugar maple in the previous post.


The second bonsai  Trident maple following is even smaller--the leaves are even tinier, and although quite faded, even brighter  red in colour.

Trident Maple 8" high  grown from cutting  in hand-made clay  pot

                   
 I wonder if the bonsai trident maples might be persuaded to give very tiny bottles of maple syrup  by boiling very tiny pails of maple sap over very tiny fires?   What a sweet idea!

It seems there are many maples, all wanting to be red....and read about.



That's my story and I'm sticking to it.