Maple tree sap naturally contains a higher amount of sugar than any other tree. One of the maple’s biggest claims to fame is its sap, from which maple syrup is made. The seeds usually require a period of dormancy as the seed coat is softened and weathered-a process known as stratification-before they can germinate. One tree can release hundreds of thousands of seeds at a time. Depending on the species, the seeds can be small and green or larger and yellow or orange. Because of the spinning action, the pods are sometimes referred to as helicopters or whirlybirds. Each pod encloses a pair of seeds attached to a flattened “wing” of papery tissue, and the pod is designed to be picked up by the wind and then spin as it falls, to carry the seeds a considerable distance. Seeds: One of maple’s distinctive characteristics is the seedpods it produces, called samaras. Maples flower in late winter or early spring, usually with or just after the appearance of new leaves. The flowers are either male or female and pollination is typically performed by insects, which carry the pollen from the male to the female flowers. Each flower is small, composed of four or five sepals and four or five petals. Most maple trees have green leaves during the spring and summer, but some may have red, bronze, or purplish leaves.įlowers: Maple blossoms may be green, yellow, orange, or red and usually grow in clusters of five. Exceptions to the usual leaf shape are species with leaves divided into three leaflets, such as paperbark maple Acer griseum and vine-leafed maple Acer cissifolium, and a few with simple, undivided leaves, like the hornbeam maple Acer carpinifolium. The typical leaf shape may be slender, almost lacy, like the Japanese maple Acer palmatum, or wide in the middle like the Norway maple Acer platonoides. Leaves: The majority of maples have the easily recognized, hand-shaped leaves with five points. Maples are often found growing along riverbanks, and they have dense, fibrous roots that can help control erosion, but also inhibit the growth of other plants around their base.
The majority of species prefer a temperate climate, although a few are drought tolerant. Most maple species are deciduous trees, although some grow more like shrubs, and a few in southern Asia and the Mediterranean are evergreen.
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