This single species exhibits a variety of figures, including curly, fiddleback, quilted, blistered and tiger maple, along with bird's-eye maple and maple burl. A closely related species to hard maple is black maple, which also yields the various dramatic looking figures. It is hard to believe, but the same species used for bowling alleys can also be sliced into gorgeous veneers and made into priceless musical instruments.

With its variety of uses, it is no wonder that maple never really has gone out of style. It is also understandable that hard maple is one of the most commercially valuable timbers from the Eastern United States.

The various species of this North American tree are often designated as either hard or soft maples. The soft maples are roughly 25 percent softer than the hard maples, but often have the same uses. The exception to this is the soft maple boxelder. Other significant soft maples include red maple and silver maple.