Where to Find Maple Lumber in North Carolina

Several types of maple are native to North Carolina.

Three species of maple are native to North Carolina. The wood from these trees has a variety of uses from construction to the fabrication of fine furniture, bowling pins, baseball bats, pool cues and musical instruments.

Types

Two retail stores in North Carolina sell maple wood.

Two retail stores in North Carolina sell several types of maple. The Hardwood Store of North Carolina in Gibsonville, just east of Greensboro and west of Burlington, has curly maple, tiger maple, hard maple, soft maple and wormy maple. In Charlotte, Dixie Plywood and Lumber Company sells hard maple, Pacific maple and soft maple.

Features

Red maple is named for its brilliant fall leaves.

Three varieties of maple grow in North Carolina: red maple, silver maple and sugar maple. Eastern red maple, or Carolina maple, is a large tree that can grow up to 115 feet in height. It is named for its fiery fall foliage. Silver maple is a medium-sized tree that is usually found along stream banks or in flood plains. Silver maple and red maple are both cut and sold as soft maple. Sugar maple, sometimes called hard maple, is a commonly used hardwood.

Fun Fact

Many musical instruments, including guitars, violas and violins, are made of maple. The wood is considered a tone-wood, or a wood that carries sound well.

References

• Pantheon Guitars: Tonewoods
• The Illustrated Guide to American Hardwood
• The Violin Site: Wood for Making Violins
• Western North Carolina Nature Center: Silver Maple
• The Hardwood Store of North Carolina
• Dixie Plywood and Lumber Company

Resources

• ibiblio.org: Common Trees of the North Carolina Piedmont