''Acer'' () is a
genus of
trees and
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
s commonly known as maples. The
genus is placed in the family
Sapindaceae
The Sapindaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1858 accepted species. Examples include horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee.
The Sapindaceae occur in tempera ...
.
[Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/.] There are approximately 132
species, most of which are native to
Asia, with a number also appearing in
Europe, northern
Africa, and
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. Only one species, ''
Acer laurinum'', extends to the
Southern Hemisphere.
[Gibbs, D. & Chen, Y. (2009]
The Red List of Maples
Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) The
type species of the genus is the sycamore maple, ''
Acer pseudoplatanus
''Acer pseudoplatanus'', known as the sycamore in the British Isles and as the sycamore maple in the United States, is a species of flowering plant in the Sapindus, soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large deciduous, broad-leaved ...
'', the most common maple species in Europe.
[van Gelderen, C. J. & van Gelderen, D. M. (1999). ''Maples for Gardens: A Color Encyclopedia''] Maples usually have easily recognizable
palmate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...
leaves (''
Acer negundo
''Acer negundo'', the box elder, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple or ash-leaved maple, is a species of maple native to North America. It is a fast-growing, short-lived tree with opposite, compound leaves. It is sometimes considered a weedy or inv ...
'' is an exception) and distinctive
winged fruits. The closest relatives of the maples are the
horse chestnuts
The genus ''Aesculus'' ( or ), with species called buckeye and horse chestnut, comprises 13–19 species of flowering plants in the family Sapindaceae. They are trees and shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with six species n ...
.
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tree ...
is made from the sap of some maple species. It is one of the most common genera of trees in Asia.
Evolutionary history
The closest relative of ''Acer'' is ''
Dipteronia,'' which only has two living species in China, but has a fossil record extending back to the middle
Paleocene in North America. The oldest known fossils of ''Acer'' are from the late Paleocene of
Northeast Asia and northern North America, around 60 million years old. The oldest fossils of ''Acer'' in Europe are from
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
, dating to the late
Eocene (
Priabonian
The Priabonian is, in the ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age or the upper stage of the Eocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Priabonian is preceded by the Bartonian and is followed by the Rupelian, the lowest stage of t ...
~38-34 million years old).
Morphology
Most maples are trees growing to a height of . Others are shrubs less than 10 meters tall with a number of small
trunks originating at ground level. Most species are
deciduous, and many are renowned for their
autumn leaf colour
Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normal green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, various shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown. The phenomenon i ...
, but a few in southern Asia and the
Mediterranean region are
evergreen. Most are
shade-tolerant when young and are often riparian, understory, or pioneer species rather than climax overstory trees. There are a few exceptions such as
sugar maple. Many of the
root systems are typically dense and fibrous, inhibiting the growth of other vegetation underneath them. A few species, notably ''
Acer cappadocicum'', frequently produce
root sprouts, which can develop into
clonal colonies.
Maples are distinguished by opposite
leaf arrangement. The leaves in most species are
palmate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...
veined and lobed, with 3 to 9 (rarely to 13) veins each leading to a lobe, one of which is central or apical. A small number of species differ in having palmate compound,
pinnate compound, pinnate veined or unlobed leaves. Several species, including ''
Acer griseum'' (paperbark maple), ''
Acer mandshuricum'' (Manchurian maple), ''
Acer maximowiczianum
''Acer maximowiczianum'' (Nikko maple; syn. ''A. nikoense'' Maxim.), is a species of maple widely distributed in China (Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang) and Japan (Honshū, Kyūshū, Shikoku).Xu, T.-z., Chen, Y., de Jong, P. C., & ...
'' (Nikko maple) and ''
Acer triflorum
''Acer triflorum'', the three-flowered maple, is a species of maple native to hills of northeastern China (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning) and Korea.
It is a deciduous tree that reaches a height of about but is usually smaller.Xu, T.-z., Chen, ...
'' (three-flowered maple), have trifoliate leaves. One species, ''
Acer negundo
''Acer negundo'', the box elder, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple or ash-leaved maple, is a species of maple native to North America. It is a fast-growing, short-lived tree with opposite, compound leaves. It is sometimes considered a weedy or inv ...
'' (box-elder or Manitoba maple), has pinnately compound leaves that may be simply trifoliate or may have five, seven, or rarely nine leaflets. A few, such as ''
Acer laevigatum'' (Nepal maple) and ''
Acer carpinifolium'' (hornbeam maple), have pinnately veined simple leaves.
Maple species, such as ''
Acer rubrum'', may be
monoecious
Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy.
Monoecy is conne ...
,
dioecious
Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
or
polygamodioecious. The
flowers are regular,
pentamerous Merosity (from the greek "méros," which means "having parts") refers to the number of component parts in a distinct whorl of a plant structure. The term is most commonly used in the context of a flower where it refers to the number of sepals in a ...
, and borne in
raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
s,
corymbs, or
umbels. They have four or five
sepals, four or five
petal
Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...
s about 1–6 mm long (absent in some species), four to ten
stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s about 6–10 mm long, and two
pistil
Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...
s or a pistil with two styles. The
ovary
The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...
is superior and has two
carpels, whose wings elongate the flowers, making it easy to tell which flowers are female. Maples flower in late
winter or early
spring, in most species with or just after the appearance of the leaves, but in some before the trees leaf out.
[Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan .]
Maple flowers are green, yellow, orange or red. Though individually small, the effect of an entire tree in flower can be striking in several species. Some maples are an early spring source of
pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...
and
nectar
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...
for
bee
Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...
s.
The distinctive
fruits are called
samaras, "maple keys", "helicopters", "whirlybirds" or "polynoses". These
seeds occur in distinctive pairs each containing one seed enclosed in a "nutlet" attached to a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue. They are shaped to spin as they fall and to carry the seeds a considerable distance on the wind. People often call them "helicopters" due to the way that they spin as they fall. During World War II, the US Army developed a special airdrop supply carrier that could carry up to of supplies and was based on the maple seed. Seed maturation is usually in a few weeks to six months after flowering, with
seed dispersal shortly after maturity. However, one tree can release hundreds of thousands of seeds at a time. Depending on the species, the seeds can be small and green to orange and big with thicker seed pods. The green seeds are released in pairs, sometimes with the stems still connected. The yellow seeds are released individually and almost always without the stems. Most species require
stratification in order to
germinate, and some seeds can remain dormant in the soil for several years before germinating.
The genus ''Acer'' together with genus ''Dipteronia'' are either classified in a
family of their own, the ''
Aceraceae'', or else classified as members of the family ''
Sapindaceae
The Sapindaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1858 accepted species. Examples include horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee.
The Sapindaceae occur in tempera ...
''. Recent classifications, including the
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in ''Sapindaceae''. When put in family ''Sapindaceae'', genus ''Acer'' is put in
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
''
Hippocastanoideae''. The genus is subdivided by its morphology into a multitude of sections and subsections. Molecular studies incorporating DNA sequence data from both chloroplast and nuclear genomes, aiming to resolve the internal relationships and reconstruct the evolutionairy history of the group, suggest a Late Paleocene origin for the group, appearing first in the northeastern Palearctic. Rapid lineage divergence was followed by several independent dispersals to the Nearctic and Western Palearctic regions.
Fifty-four species of maples meet the
International Union for Conservation of Nature criteria for being under threat of extinction in their native habitat.
Pests and diseases
The leaves are used as a food plant for the
larvae of a number of the order
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...
(see
List of Lepidoptera that feed on maples
Maples, ''Acer'' species, are used as food plants by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species. These include:
Monophagous
Species which feed exclusively on ''Acer''
* Gelechiidae
** '' Chionodes negundella'' - feeds on Manitoba maple (''Acer ...
). In high concentrations, caterpillars, like the greenstriped mapleworm (''
Dryocampa rubicunda
''Dryocampa rubicunda'', the rosy maple moth, is a small North American moth in the family Saturniidae, also known as the great silk moths. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793. The species is known for its wooly body and ...
''), can feed on the leaves so much that they cause temporary defoliation of host maple trees.
Aphids are also very common sap-feeders on maples. In horticultural applications a
dimethoate spray will solve this.
Infestations of the
Asian long-horned beetle (''Anoplophora glabripennis'') have resulted in the destruction of thousands of maples and other tree species in Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio in the United States and Ontario, Canada.
Maples are affected by a number of
fungal diseases. Several are susceptible to Verticillium wilt caused by ''
Verticillium'' species, which can cause significant local mortality.
Sooty bark disease, caused by ''
Cryptostroma
''Cryptostroma corticale'' is a species of fungus that causes sooty bark disease of maples, particularly sycamore (''Acer pseudoplatanus''). The spores grow profusely under the bark of affected trees or stacked logs. The fungus causes disease an ...
'' species, can kill trees that are under stress due to
drought. Death of maples can rarely be caused by ''
Phytophthora''
root rot
Root rot is a condition in which anoxic conditions in the soil or potting media around the roots of a plant cause them to rot. This occurs due to excessive standing water around the roots. It is found in both indoor and outdoor plants, although ...
and ''
Ganoderma
''Ganoderma'' is a genus of polypore fungi in the family Ganodermataceae that includes about 80 species, many from tropical regions. They have a high genetic diversity and are used in traditional Asian medicines. ''Ganoderma'' can be differenti ...
'' root decay. Maple leaves in late summer and autumn are commonly disfigured by "tar spot" caused by ''
Rhytisma
''Rhytisma'' is a genus of fungi in the Rhytismataceae family commonly known as 'tar spot'. There are about 18 species, which live parasitically in the leaves of deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () ...
'' species and
mildew caused by ''
Uncinula'' species, though these diseases do not usually have an adverse effect on the trees' long-term health.
[Phillips, D. H. & Burdekin, D. A. (1992). ''Diseases of Forest and Ornamental Trees''. Macmillan. .]
Cultural significance
A
maple leaf is on the
coat of arms of Canada, and is on the
Canadian flag. The maple is a common symbol of strength and endurance and has been chosen as the national tree of Canada. Maple leaves are traditionally an important part of
Canadian Forces military regalia, for example, the military rank insignia for generals use maple leaf symbols.
There are 10 species naturally growing in the country, with at least one in each province. Although the idea of the tree as a national symbol originally hailed from the province of
Quebec where the
sugar maple is significant, today's arboreal emblem of Canada rather refers to a generic maple. The design on the
flag
A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
is an eleven-point stylization modeled after a sugar maple leaf (which normally bears 23 points).
It is also in the name of the Canadian ice hockey team, the
Toronto Maple Leafs.
The first attested use of the word was in 1260 as "mapole", and it also appears a century later in
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
's ''
Canterbury Tales'', spelled as "mapul". The maple is also a symbol of
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
, ubiquitous in the local ''
meibutsu''.
The maple leaf appears in the coat of arms of
Sammatti, a former municipality of
Uusimaa,
Finland.
Uses
Horticulture
Some species of maple are extensively planted as
ornamental tree
Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...
s by homeowners, businesses, and municipalities due to their fall colour, relatively fast growth, ease of transplanting, and lack of hard seeds that would pose a problem for mowing lawns. Particularly popular are
Norway maple (although it is considered invasive in North America),
silver maple,
Japanese maple, and
red maple. Other maples, especially smaller or more unusual species, are popular as specimen trees.
Cultivars
Numerous maple
cultivars that have been selected for particular characteristics can be
propagated only by
asexual reproduction
Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes. The offspring that arise by asexual reproduction from either unicellular or multicellular organisms inherit the fu ...
such as cuttings,
tissue culture, budding or
grafting
Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...
. ''
Acer palmatum
''Acer palmatum'', commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Japanese: ''irohamomiji'', , or ''momiji'', (栴), is a species of woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russi ...
'' (Japanese maple) alone has over 1,000 cultivars, most selected in Japan, and many of them no longer propagated or not in cultivation in the
Western world. Some delicate cultivars are usually grown in pots and rarely reach heights of more than 50–100 cm.
Bonsai
Maples are a popular choice for the art of
bonsai
Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...
.
Japanese maple (''Acer palmatum''),
trident maple
''Acer buergerianum'' (trident maple; ) is a species of maple native to eastern China (from Shandong west to southeastern Gansu, south to Guangdong, and southwest to Sichuan), Taiwan and Japan. The specific epithet is a patronym honoring Dutch pl ...
(''A. buergerianum''),
Amur maple
''Acer ginnala'', the Amur maple, is a plant species with woody stems native to northeastern Asia from easternmost Mongolia east to Korea and Japan, and north to the Russian Far East in the Amur River valley. It is a small maple with deciduous ...
(''A. ginnala''),
field maple (''A. campestre'') and
Montpellier maple
''Acer monspessulanum'', the Montpellier maple, is a species of maple native to the Mediterranean region from Morocco and Portugal in the west, to Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel in the east, and north to the Jura Mountains in France and th ...
(''A. monspessulanum'') are popular choices and respond well to techniques that encourage leaf reduction and
ramification, but most species can be used.
Collections
Maple collections, sometimes called ''aceretums'', occupy space in many gardens and
arboreta around the world including the "five great W's" in
England:
Wakehurst Place Garden
Wakehurst, previously known as Wakehurst Place, is a house and botanic gardens in West Sussex, England, owned by the National Trust but used and managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It is near Ardingly, West Sussex in the High Weald (g ...
,
Westonbirt Arboretum,
Windsor Great Park,
Winkworth Arboretum and
Wisley Garden
RHS Garden Wisley is a garden run by the Royal Horticultural Society in Wisley, Surrey, south of London. It is one of five gardens run by the society, the others being Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall, Rosemoor, and Bridgewater (which opened on 18 M ...
. In the
United States, the aceretum at the
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
-owned
Arnold Arboretum
The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in N ...
in
Boston is especially notable. In the number of species and cultivars, the
Esveld Aceretum in
Boskoop, Netherlands, is the largest in the world.
Commercial uses
Maples are important as sources of syrup and wood. Dried wood is often used for the
smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...
of food. Charcoal from maples is an integral part of the
Lincoln County Process
The Lincoln County Process is a step used in producing almost all Tennessee whiskeys. The whiskey is filtered through — or steeped in used to make
Tennessee whiskey.
They are also cultivated as
ornamental plants and have benefits for
tourism and
agriculture.
Timber
Some of the larger maple species have valuable
timber, particularly Sugar maple in North America and Sycamore maple in Europe. Sugar maple wood—often known as "hard maple"—is the wood of choice for
bowling pins, bowling alley lanes, pool
cue shafts, and
butcher's blocks. Maple wood is also used for the manufacture of wooden
baseball bats, though less often than
ash or
hickory
Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...
due to the tendency of maple bats to shatter if they do break. The maple bat was introduced to
Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1998 by
Sam Bat founder Sam Holman. Today it is the standard maple bat most in use by professional baseball. Maple is also commonly used in archery as the core material in the limbs of a
recurve bow due to its stiffness and strength.
Maple wood is often graded based on physical and aesthetic characteristics. The most common terminology includes the grading scale from common #2; which is unselected and often used for craft woods; common #1, used for commercial and residential buildings; clear; and select grade, which is sought for fine woodworking.
Some maple wood has a highly decorative
wood grain, known as
flame maple,
quilt maple,
birdseye maple
Bird's eye is a type of figure that occurs within several kinds of wood, most notably in hard maple. It has a distinctive pattern that resembles tiny, swirling eyes disrupting the smooth lines of grain. It is somewhat reminiscent of a burl, but ...
and
burl wood. This condition occurs randomly in individual trees of several species and often cannot be detected until the wood has been sawn, though it is sometimes visible in the standing tree as a rippled pattern in the bark.
These select decorative wood pieces also have subcategories that further filter the aesthetic looks. Crotch wood, bees wing, cats paw, old growth and mottled are some terms used to describe the look of these decorative woods.
Maples have a long history of use for furniture production in the United States.
The
Cherokee Indians would produce a purple dye from maple bark, which they used to dye cloth.
Tonewood
Maple is considered a
tonewood, or a wood that carries sound waves well, and is used in numerous
musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
s. Maple is harder and has a brighter sound than
mahogany
Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...
, which is another major tonewood used in instrument manufacturing.
The back, sides, and neck of most
violins
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
,
violas
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
,
cellos, and
double basses are made from maple.
Electric guitar necks are commonly made from maple, having good dimensional stability. The necks of the Fender
Stratocaster and
Telecaster were originally an entirely maple one piece neck, but later were also available with
rosewood fingerboards.
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...
desired an all maple guitar, but due to the weight of maple, only the tops of
Gibson's Les Paul guitars are made from carved maple, often using quilted or flamed maple tops. Due to its weight, very few
solid body
thumb , Sound sample of solid-body electric guitar.
A solid-body musical instrument is a string instrument such as a guitar, bass or violin built without its normal sound box and relying on an electromagnetic pickup system to directly detect th ...
guitars are made entirely from maple, but many guitars have maple necks, tops or veneers.
Maple is also often used to make
bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...
s and sometimes for other
woodwind instruments like maple recorders.
Many
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
s are made from maple. From the 1970s to the 1990s, maple drum kits were a vast majority of all drum kits made, but in recent years,
birch has become popular for drums once again. Some of the best drum-building companies use maple extensively throughout their mid-pro range.
Maple drums are favored for their bright resonant sound.
Certain types of drum sticks are also made from maple.
Agriculture
During late winter to early spring in northeastern
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, when the night-to-day temperatures change from freezing to thawing, maple trees may be tapped for
sap to manufacture
maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tree ...
.
The sap is sent via tubing to a
sugar house where it is boiled to produce syrup or made into
maple sugar
Maple sugar is a traditional sweetener in Canada and the northeastern United States, prepared from the sap of the maple tree ("maple sap").
Sources
Three species of maple trees in the genus '' Acer'' are predominantly used to produce maple ...
or
maple taffy. It takes about of sugar maple sap to make of syrup.
[ While any ''Acer'' species may be tapped for syrup, many do not have sufficient quantities of sugar to be commercially useful, whereas sugar maples (''A. saccharum'') are most commonly used to produce maple syrup.][ Québec, Canada is a major producer of maple syrup, an industry worth about 500 million Canadian dollars annually.]
Also, as these trees are a major source of pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...
in early spring before many other plants have flowered, maple flowers are a source of foraging for honeybees that play a commercially important role in general agriculture and in natural habitats.
Pulpwood
Maple is used as pulpwood
Pulpwood is timber with the principal use of making wood pulp for paper production.
Applications
* Trees raised specifically for pulp production account for 15% of world pulp production, old growth forests 9% and second- and third- and more gener ...
. The fibers have relatively thick walls that prevent collapsing upon drying. This gives good bulk and opacity in paper. Maple also gives paper good printing properties.
Tourism
Many maples have bright autumn foliage, and many countries have leaf-watching traditions. The sugar maple ''(Acer saccharum
''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prima ...
)'' is the primary contributor to fall " foliage season" in North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, particularly in Central Ontario, Quebec, and northern New England, New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
In Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, the custom of viewing the changing colour of maples in the autumn is called ''momijigari''. Nikko and Kyoto are particularly favoured destinations for this activity. In Korea, the same viewing activity is called ''danpung-nori'' and the Seoraksan and Naejang-san
Naejangsan is a mountain located on the border of North Jeolla and South Jeolla provinces in southwestern South Korea, approximately three hours drive south of Seoul. It has an elevation of .
National park
Naejangsan forms the core of Naejangsan ...
mountains are among the best-known destinations.
Gallery
File:台灣三角楓 Acer buergerianum var. formosanum 20220411100147 08.jpg, '' Acer buergerianum var. formosanum'' leaves and fruit
Image:Acer cappadocicum spring.jpg, '' Acer cappadocicum'' (Cappadocian maple)
Image:Acer carpinifolium.jpg, '' Acer carpinifolium'' leaves
Image:Acer ginnala.jpg, ''Acer ginnala
''Acer ginnala'', the Amur maple, is a plant species with woody stems native to northeastern Asia from easternmost Mongolia east to Korea and Japan, and north to the Russian Far East in the Amur River valley. It is a small maple with deciduous ...
'' foliage
Image:Bi-colored Maple Tree.jpg, '' Acer grandidentatum'' (bigtooth maple) in autumn colour
Image:Paperbark Maple Acer griseum Leaves Closeup 2856px.jpg, '' Acer griseum'' (paperbark maple)
Image:Acer laevigatum 3.jpg, '' Acer laevigatum'' leaves and fruit
Image:Acer macrophyllum 0304.jpg, '' Acer macrophyllum'' flowers and young leaves
File:青楓 Acer serrulatum 20210419095802 02.jpg, '' Acer oliverianum'' The Chinese name "Qingfeng" comes from the bark color of the new branches and young trunk which are green.
Image:TenryujiMomiji.jpg, ''Acer palmatum
''Acer palmatum'', commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Japanese: ''irohamomiji'', , or ''momiji'', (栴), is a species of woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russi ...
'' trees and bamboo in Japan
Image:Red maple leaf.jpg, ''Acer palmatum
''Acer palmatum'', commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Japanese: ''irohamomiji'', , or ''momiji'', (栴), is a species of woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russi ...
'' leaf in autumn
Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sou ...
Image:Maple leaf Fcb981.JPG, ''Acer platanoides
''Acer platanoides'', commonly known as the Norway maple, is a species of maple native to eastern and central Europe and western Asia, from Spain east to Russia, north to southern Scandinavia and southeast to northern Iran. It was introduced to ...
'' leaf
Image:Helicopter leaves.jpg, ''Acer platanoides
''Acer platanoides'', commonly known as the Norway maple, is a species of maple native to eastern and central Europe and western Asia, from Spain east to Russia, north to southern Scandinavia and southeast to northern Iran. It was introduced to ...
'' (Norway maple) samaras
File:Acer rubrum 1-eheep (5097479399).jpg, '' Acer rubrum'' leaves
File:Red maple.png, '' Acer rubrum'' tree in autumn
Image:Acer sempervirens leaves.jpg, '' Acer sempervirens'' foliage
Image:Autumn Blaze Maple Foliage.jpg, ''Acer'' × ''freemanii'' 'Autumn Blaze' (a cross between '' A. rubrum'' and '' A. saccharinum''
See also
* List of ''Acer'' species
* List of Award of Garden Merit maples
* Mazer – a drinking vessel made from maple wood
* List of foods made from maple
References
Citations
General bibliography
*
{{authority control
Articles containing video clips
Plant dyes
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus