Young trees up to 4-8 inches with smooth gray bark. Older trees developing furrows and ultimately long, irregular, thick vertical plates that appear to peal from the trunk in a vertical direction. Fruits mature in fall. Similar to sugar maple but usually darker and more deeply grooved or furrowed. Similar to sugar maple with, perhaps, a slightly larger seed.
Mature leaves have a whitish appearing underside.
Young trees up to 4-8 inches with a smooth light gray bark, developing into gray or black ridges and ultimately narrow scaly plates. Fruit matures in spring. Silvery gray on young trees breaking into long thin scaly plates that give the trunks of older trees a very shaggy appearance. Considerable red is seen in bark pattern as scales develop. Similar to red maple but bruised or scraped bark has a very fetid or foul odor.