Maple

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Maple tree
)
For other uses, see Maple (disambiguation).
"Acer (plant)" redirects here. For the company, see Acer Inc.

Maple
Temporal range: Late Paleocene – Recent
Acer pseudoplatanus (sycamore maple) foliage
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Subfamily: Hippocastanoideae
Genus: Acer
L.
Species

See either

alphabetical list of species

Distribution

Acer (

horse chestnuts. Maple syrup is made from the sap of some maple species. It is one of the most common genera of trees in Asia. Many maple species are grown in gardens where they are valued for their autumn colour.[5]

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, dating to the late Eocene (Priabonian ~38–34 million years ago).[6]

Morphology

Acer saccharum (sugar maple)

Most maples are trees growing to a height of 10–45 m (33–148 ft). Others are shrubs less than 10 meters tall with a number of small

root sprouts, which can develop into clonal colonies.[4]

Acer circinatum (vine maple) leaves showing the palmate veining typical of most species

Maples are distinguished by opposite

pinnate compound, pinnate veined or unlobed leaves. Several species, including Acer griseum (paperbark maple), Acer mandshuricum (Manchurian maple), Acer maximowiczianum (Nikko maple) and Acer triflorum (three-flowered maple), have trifoliate leaves. One species, Acer negundo (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

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.[7]

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 and nectar for bees.

µCT scan of a samara. Resolution is about 45 µm/voxel
.

The distinctive

stratification in order to germinate, and some seeds can remain dormant in the soil for several years before germinating.[4]

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. Recent classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in Sapindaceae. When put in family Sapindaceae, genus Acer is put in subfamily Hippocastanoideae. The genus is subdivided by its morphology into a multitude of sections and subsections.[9][10] 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.[11][12] Fifty-four species of maples meet the International Union for Conservation of Nature criteria for being under threat of extinction in their native habitat.[3]

Pests and diseases

Rhytisma acerinum fungus on Acer pseudoplatanus leaf

The leaves are used as a food plant for the larvae of a number of the order Lepidoptera (see List of Lepidoptera that feed on maples). In high concentrations, caterpillars, like the greenstriped mapleworm (Dryocampa rubicunda), can feed on the leaves so much that they cause temporary defoliation of host maple trees.[13] 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.[14][15]

Maples are affected by a number of

Cryptostroma species, can kill trees that are under stress due to drought. Death of maples can rarely be caused by Phytophthora root rot and Ganoderma root decay. Maple leaves in late summer and autumn are commonly disfigured by "tar spot" caused by Rhytisma species and mildew caused by Uncinula species, though these diseases do not usually have an adverse effect on the trees' long-term health.[16]

Cultural significance

The Canadian flag incorporates a stylized maple leaf
The maple leaf in the coat of arms of Sammatti

A

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[17] where the sugar maple is significant, today's arboreal emblem of Canada rather refers to a generic maple.[18] The design on the flag is an eleven-point stylization modeled after a sugar maple leaf (which normally bears 23 points).[19]

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

Canterbury Tales, spelled as "mapul".[20] The maple is also a symbol of Hiroshima, ubiquitous in the local meibutsu
.

The maple leaf appears in the coat of arms of Sammatti, a former municipality of Uusimaa, Finland.[21][22]

Uses

Horticulture

A red maple tree highlighted between spruce trees
Acer palmatum (Japanese maple) has over 1,000 cultivars. This cultivar is A. palmatum 'Sango kaku', sometimes called "coralbark maple"

Some species of maple are extensively planted as

red maple. The vine maple is also occasionally used as an ornamental tree. Other maples, especially smaller or more unusual species, are popular as specimen trees.[4]

Cultivars

Numerous maple cultivars that have been selected for particular characteristics can be propagated only by asexual reproduction such as cuttings, tissue culture, budding or grafting. Acer palmatum (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.

Acer palmatum var. 'Kiyohime' as bonsai during fall abscission. This dwarf hybrid cultivar is prized for its small leaves and bright red fall colors.

Bonsai

"Roter Fächerahorn"

Maples are a popular choice for the art of

Montpellier maple (A. monspessulanum) are popular choices and respond well to techniques that encourage leaf reduction and ramification, but most species can be used.[4][23]

Collections

Acer griseum is widely grown for its decorative bark

Maple collections, sometimes called aceretums, occupy space in many gardens and

Boston is especially notable. In the number of species and cultivars, the Esveld Aceretum in Boskoop, Netherlands, is the largest in the world.[4]

Commercial uses

Maples are important as sources of syrup and wood. Dried wood is often used for the smoking of food. Charcoal from maples is an integral part of the Lincoln County Process used to make Tennessee whiskey.[24] They are also cultivated as ornamental plants and have benefits for tourism and agriculture.

Timber

A bench made of highly figured maple wood

Some of the larger maple species have valuable

ash or hickory 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.[25] 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.[26]

Some maple wood has a highly decorative

birdseye maple 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.[27]

Maples have a long history of use for furniture production in the United States.[28] The Cherokee people would produce a purple dye from maple bark, which they used to dye cloth.[29][30]

Tonewood

Maple is considered a tonewood, or a wood that carries sound waves well, and is used in numerous musical instruments. Maple is harder and has a brighter sound than mahogany, which is another major tonewood used in instrument manufacturing.[31]

The back, sides, and neck of most violins, violas, cellos, and double basses are made from maple.

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
guitars are made entirely from maple, but many guitars have maple necks, tops or veneers.

Maple is also often used to make bassoons and sometimes for other woodwind instruments like maple recorders.

Many drums 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.[4] Maple drums are favored for their bright resonant sound.[32] Certain types of drum sticks are also made from maple.

Agriculture

Further information: Maple syrup

During late winter to early spring in northeastern

Canadian dollars annually.[33][34]

Also, as these trees are a major source of

honeybees that play a commercially important role in general agriculture and in natural habitats.[35]

Pulpwood

Maple is used as pulpwood. 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

Naejang-san
mountains are among the best-known destinations.

Gallery

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Acer.

References

Citations

  1. ^ Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 [and more or less continuously updated since]. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/.
  2. ^ Xu, Tingzhi; Chen, Yousheng; de Jong, Piet C.; Oterdoom, Herman John; Chang, Chin-Sung. "Acer". Flora of China. Vol. 11. Retrieved 27 May 2012 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-1-905164-31-8
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-585-25457-9
  5. ^ [1] Crowley (2020) Acer L. from the website Trees and Shrubs Online
  6. S2CID 231754169
    .
  7. ISBN 0-333-47494-5
    .
  8. ^ "Sky Hook Spirals from Plane" Popular Mechanics, December 1944, p. 75.
  9. ^ "Classification of Genus Acer". 12 August 2007. Archived from the original on 12 August 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  10. PMID 32742784
    .
  11. PMID 18853365
    .
  12. PMID 33508445
    .
  13. ^ "Auburn University Entomology and Plant Pathology | Greenstriped Mapleworm". Auburn University Entomology and Plant Pathology. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  14. ^ "Fact Sheets". Umassgreeninfo.org. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  15. ^ September 18, 2003 Asian Longhorned Beetle discovered in York Region Archived January 14, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ISBN 0-333-49493-8
    .
  17. ^ Fraser, Alistair B. (1998). "National Symbols". The Flag of Canada. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  18. ^ Heritage, Canadian. "Official symbols of Canada - Canada.ca". Canada.pch.gc.ca. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  19. ISBN 9781134687633
    .
  20. ^ "maple, n.1". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 19 November 2017 – via Oxford English Dictionary.
  21. ISBN 951-773-085-3
    .
  22. ^ "Sisäasiainministeriön vahvistamat kaupunkien, kauppaloiden ja kuntien vaakunat 1949-1995 I:13 Sammatti" (in Finnish). Kansallisarkiston digitaaliarkisto. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  23. ^ D'Cruz, Mark. "Ma-Ke Bonsai Care Guide for Acer buergerianum". Ma-Ke Bonsai. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
  24. ^ Zandona, Eric. "Tennessee Whiskey Gets a Legal Definition". EZdrinking. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
  25. ^ Sam Holman Maple Baseball Bats Archived 2010-05-16 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ "Publications" (PDF). Ahec.org. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  27. ^ Wood Terms and Examples Archived 2010-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
  28. ISBN 978-0-517-03735-5
    . Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  29. OCLC 647927893
  30. ISBN 978-0-8061-0923-7
    .
  31. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2012-11-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  32. ISBN 978-0-87930-476-8
    . Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  33. ^ a b c d "Step-by-Step in the Production of Maple Syrup". Québec Maple Syrup Producers. 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  34. ^ Marowits, Ross (20 February 2017). "Quebec increases maple syrup production amid internal revolt, foreign competition". CBC. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  35. ^ "Trees for bees and other pollinators". Arbor Day Foundation. 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.

[1]

General bibliography

  1. ISBN 9780585254579
    .
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maple&oldid=1212354208"