Home > Maple

Maples are treeThis article is about the biological organisms known as trees. For other meanings of the word see tree (disambiguation). oak tree in Denmark A tree can be defined as a large perennial woody plant. Though there is no set definition of size, it is generallys of the genusSee genus (mathematics) for the use of the term in mathematics. See genus (music) for the use of the term in music. In biology, a genus (plural genera is a grouping in the classification of living organisms having one or more related and morphologically s Acer in the Order Sapindales, variously classified in a family of their own AceraceaeAceraceae Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Sapindales Family Aceraceae Genera Acer L. Maple Dipteronia Oliver. The Aceraceae or Maple Family are a group of trees and shrubs, belonging to the or, or (together with the Hippocastanaceae) in Sapindaceae; genetic evidence points to the latter being the more accurate option. They are distinguished by opposite leafThis article is about the leaf a plant organ. See Leaf (disambiguation) for other meanings. In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the chloroplast con arrangement, with usually palmateIn botany, palmate refers to leaves that have veins radiating from the point where the leaf attaches to the petiole (stem). They may be simple, as in the norway maple, or compound, as in horse chestnut. Botany.ly lobed, or occasionally pinnatePinnate is a term used to describe feather-like or many-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis in plant or animal structures, and comes from the Latin word pinna for "feather". The word is, in many cases, synonymous with the term pectin or unlobed leaves. The flowers are regular, pentamerous, and borne in racemes, corymbs, or umbels. Their distinctive fruit, called a key, is a type of samara, shaped to spin as it falls and carry the seeds a considerable distance on the wind. The name 'acer' derives from the Latin "acris" (sharp), from the hardness of the wood, used for lances in the past.

The leaves in most species are palmately veined and lobed, with 3-9 veins each leading to a lobe, one of which is in the middle. Several species, including the Paperbark Maple, Acer griseum, Manchurian Maple, Acer mandshuricum, Nikko Maple, Acer maximowicziana, and Three-flower Maple, Acer triflorum, have trifoliate leaves. The Manitoba Maple (Acer negundo) has pinnately compound leaves that may be simply trifoliate or may have 5, 7, or rarely 9 leaflets. One maple, the Hornbeam Maple, Acer carpinifolium, has pinnately-veined simple leaves that resemble those of hornbeams.

Maples flower in late winter or early spring, in some species before the leaves appear, but with or just after the leaves in most. Their flowers are small and inconspicuous, though the effect of an entire avenue of maples in flower can be striking. They have five sepals, five petals about 1-6 mm long, twelve stamens about 6-10 mm long in two rings of six, and two pistils or a pistil with two styles. The ovary is superior and has two carpels, whose wings elongate the flowers, making it easy to tell which flowers are female. Within a few weeks to six months of flowering, the trees drop large numbers of seeds.

Maples are important for timber production, syrup sources, and as cultivated ornamental plants. Sugar Maple is the wood of choice for bowling pins and bowling alley lanes. Some species have bright autumnal leaf coloring. The Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) is tapped for sap, which is then boiled to produce maple syrup or made into maple sugar or maple candy. Quebec is the world's largest producer of maple sugar products.

Maples are an important early spring source of pollen and nectar for bees, especially honeybees, which use its resources for spring buildup.

The flag of Canada depicts a stylized maple leaf and is a prominent national symbol.