As far as the lumber goes, hard maple resists an imprint from a thumbnail.
Soft maple will take one.

Hard maple of the Acer saccharum variety has almost no dark heartwood, which
makes it a more valuable tree than most soft maples.

"DAN & CINDY" wrote in message
.. .
This is to all of the wood buffs who can tell the difference in the
maples.
1st how many different types of maple trees are there, 2nd how can you
tell
the difference. Last but not least , is one better than the other.