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VINE MAPLE (Acer circinatum)
ROCK MOUNTAIN MAPLE (Acer glabrum)
DWARF MAPLE (Acer glabrum, var. douglasii)
Other names: Maple, Douglas maple

POOR

Vine maple grows only on the Pacific slope from Northern California through Washington. Rock Mountain or dwarf species are found throughout the northwest and Rock Mountain Region. These maples are often called one for the other for they are usually small, not over about 6" 'diameter, and grow in dense thickets. They are more brush or shrubs than trees.

The vine and dwarf maple is almost never found if used by the original surveyor for a bearing tree. This writer has found only one vine maple in over 20 years of searching for corners and it was rotted all the way through. Searching for these species is very difficult in the dense thickets in which they grow. The trees decay rapidly when injured, so the question becomes one of "which rotted tree is the bearing tree?" 

These trees should not be used except as a last resort. Select the straightest and largest available. Bark scribe if possible. If blazing is necessary keep it small, marked "BT" only, and bark scribe the "X". Paint thoroughly.