Why did this tree branch spout water when it was cut?

Some trees hold a lot of water. I have cut honey locusts and cottonwoods (especially cottonwoods) that have poured the way you describe.

As far as the why part goes I would have to Google that shit.

Really? This was either a maple or an elm tho…..Sounded kind of cool!

I think that would be maple sap and you missed a chance to make syrup. Though it takes 5 gallons of sap to make a just a pint of syrup.

Easy enough to ID a maple tree from the leaves…very different from the elm. (Oh, Canada)

@gailcalled . . . right? nobody knows their lore anymore.

I’ve not seen this in trees, but when I was a kid I would nick wild grape vines (the 2” + size) and marvel at the quantity of water that poured out.

I read a locally written autobiography and in it they talk about calling cottonwood “piss wood” because when you burn it a yellow foam pours out.

I would guess a hard maple, as they’re sturdy and could handle a lot of water pressure. A “spout” is an entirely different animal from a pour.

A tall maple tree can lose 50–60 gallons per hour through evapotranspiration on a hot day. Picture that water being pulled up in a long chain from the soil to its leaves… if it’s the right time of day (i.e., hot and sunny enough), the water is moving pretty fast.

@gailcalled I know what all my trees are. Hell, I planted most of them from seeds. But I’m not the one who cut the branch, I didn’t see it, so I don’t know exactly which tree did it. I have more maples than elms, red bud or pine trees, so it was just a logical guess that it was probably one of the maples. K?

@ibstubro They said it was a spout, like under pressure.

@jaytkay I would think the sap would be obviously thicker than water. But…IDK. I didn’t see it.

I had the same thing happen with a fruitless mulberry. I was worried it had somehow rooted into a water line, but it didn’t.

I wish I had seen it! It just sounded cool!