Q: I found a full looking Legacy sugar maple at a local nursery.

Now that it’s in the ground I started noticing these canker looking things on some of the branches. The cankers are always on the outside of the branch.

The cankers are dry with no oozing. What do you think?

A: I sent your pix to a couple of arborists and they think what you’re seeing is mechanical damage, not disease.

Possibly the tree was tied up tightly during the ride from the wholesale nursery to the retail place and twine rubbed the bark off. Or maybe squirrels gnawed on the bark. In any case, the tree seems to be healthy. If it has a good leaf canopy now and next year, the wounds should heal with no problems.

see
Maple – Friction Wound