natures beadworkfunny, looks like you "welded" the trunk down the middle.
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that tree has been thru days of single digit temperatures in its lifetime! i bet youre correct about your postThat 'natures beadwork" is probably a "frost crack" sometimes in autumn or in late winter, a rapid change in temperature dropping below freezing catches the maple with too much water, and expanding water as it freezes to ice ruptures the bark. Normally a problem only in young trees, the rupture leaves that type of scar but it usually heals over and does not re-occur as the tree gets larger. Usually. Sometimes the frost crack can become the entry point for disease. Sometimes they do re-occur, but usually it is just at a certain size that a tree is susceptible to frost cracking. Older trees become "immune" to it.
I had a small one a few years ago that died. Very pretty landscape trees. Seems like you could make a nice forest out them even though the trifoliate leaf pattern would be challenging to work with. These are very hard to propagate (have never tried). They are known to throw out tons of sterile seeds so you plant 100 and might only get 1 or 2 seedlings. Supposed to be difficult from cuttings too. Don't believe you can graft them on anything but themselves either.