Maples

Maples (Acer species)

Maple family Aceraceae

Origin: Europe, Asia, North America

Description: Trees with opposite, leaves which are often palmately lobed. Flowers hermaphrodite or male and female; those of some species lack petals. Fruits dry with a membranous wing, borne in pairs joined at the base, with the wings forming an angle.

Comments: Maples are best known for their spectacular autumn colour, the foliage turning shades of yellow, deep red or scarlet, especially in North American species. Japanese maples are delicate trees, often with purplish leaves, and are popular garden plants.

Maples are commercially important as a source of timber and of maple syrup which is made from the sugary sap of several species, notably the Sugar Maple.