Maple

Maples are many kinds of trees and shrubs.

Most maples have leaves with many points. They look like a hand with fingers.

These trees grow in many lands. Most are found in East Asia. Some grow in North America and Europe. Only one kind grows far south.

Maples have very special seeds. The seeds have thin wings. They spin like tiny helicopters when they fall. This helps the wind carry them away.

Some people grow maples in gardens. They like the bright colors in fall. Some maples also have pretty flowers. You can even make sweet syrup from them.

Many people love the maple leaf. It is on the flag of Canada. It is a symbol of strength.

Maples are a large group of trees and shrubs.

There are about 132 different species. Most grow in East Asia. Some grow in Europe and North America. Only one kind grows in the Southern Hemisphere.

Most maples have special leaves. These leaves look like a hand with fingers. This shape is called palmate. Many maples are deciduous. This means they lose their leaves each year. People love them for their bright autumn colors. Some maples are even used for bonsai. Bonsai is the art of growing tiny trees in pots.

Maples have very unique fruits. These are called samaras.

People call them "helicopters" or "whirlybirds." Each fruit has a seed and a thin wing. The wings help the seeds spin as they fall. This lets the wind carry them far away. Some maples also give us sap. People use this sap to make maple syrup. The maple leaf is a famous symbol. It is even on the flag of Canada.

Maples are a large group of trees and shrubs. Scientists call this group Acer.

There are about 132 different species in this group. Most maples grow in East Asia. You can also find them in Europe, North Africa, and North America. Only one species, Acer laurinum, grows in the Southern Hemisphere.

Many people grow maples in gardens. They like the bright colors the leaves turn in autumn. Some maples have pretty flowers or interesting bark. Some species even provide sap used to make maple syrup.

Most maples have a very specific way they grow. They have leaves that grow in an opposite arrangement. This means leaves grow in pairs on the stem. Most leaves are palmate, which means they look like a hand with fingers. These leaves usually have three to nine veins.

Some special maples have different leaf shapes. For example, the box-elder has leaves with five to nine small parts. Most maples lose their leaves in the fall. These are called deciduous trees. However, a few maples in warm areas stay green all year.

Maples have a very long history on Earth. The oldest fossils of maples are about 60 million years old.

These fossils come from Northeast Asia and northern North America. Scientists found even older fossils in Europe at a place called Svalbard. These fossils date back to the late Eocene period. The closest living relative to the maple is a small group called Dipteronia. This group only has two living species, and they are both in China.

One of the most amazing things about maples is their fruit. These fruits are called samaras.

People often call them "helicopters" or "whirlybirds." Each fruit has a seed inside a small nutlet. A thin, papery wing is attached to the seed. When the seed falls, the wing makes it spin. This spinning helps the wind carry the seed a long distance. During World War II, the US Army even studied these seeds. They used the maple seed shape to design a special supply carrier for planes.

Maples are very important symbols in our world. The maple leaf is the national symbol of Canada.

You can see a stylized maple leaf on the Canadian flag. The flag's leaf has eleven points. It was modeled after a sugar maple leaf. Maples are also used in the art of bonsai. People grow tiny maple trees in pots for decoration. Some maples, like the Japanese maple, have over 1,000 different types grown by people. These trees are a beautiful part of many gardens around the world.

The genus *Acer* contains a diverse group of approximately 132 species of trees and shrubs known as maples. These plants belong to the soapberry family, Sapindaceae, and are found across much of the Northern Hemisphere. Most species are native to East Asia, but they also appear in Europe, North America, and northern Africa. Only one species, *Acer laurinum*, grows in the Southern Hemisphere. Maples are highly valued by humans for many reasons. Some provide sap for making maple syrup, while others are prized in horticulture for their autumn colors and decorative foliage.

Most maples exhibit a specific growth pattern called opposite leaf arrangement. This means that leaves grow in pairs directly across from one another on the stem. The leaves are typically palmate, meaning they are shaped like a hand with lobes. These lobes are defined by three to nine veins that lead from the base to the tip. However, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, the box-elder (*Acer negundo*) has pinnately compound leaves with five to nine leaflets. Some species, like the paperbark maple (*Acer griseum*), have trifoliate leaves, which means they grow in groups of three.

One of the most distinctive features of the maple is its fruit, known as a samara. These are often called "maple keys" or "helicopters" because of how they move. Each samara consists of a seed enclosed in a nutlet attached to a thin, papery wing. When the fruit falls from the tree, the wing causes the seed to spin rapidly. This spinning motion allows the wind to carry the seed a considerable distance from the parent tree. This mechanism is so efficient that during World War II, the US Army designed an airdrop supply carrier based on the shape of a maple seed.

The evolutionary history of maples is quite ancient. The oldest known *Acer* fossils date back to the late Paleocene, roughly 60 million years ago. These early fossils have been found in Northeast Asia and northern North America. In Europe, the oldest fossils were discovered in Svalbard and date to the late Eocene. Molecular studies using DNA from chloroplast and nuclear genomes suggest the group originated in the northeastern Palearctic. After appearing, the maples underwent rapid lineage divergence and dispersed into the Nearctic and Western Palearctic regions.

Maples vary greatly in their physical structure and habitat. Most species are trees that grow to significant heights, though some are shrubs less than 10 meters tall. Many maples are deciduous, meaning they lose their leaves annually. This process often results in the famous autumn colors that gardeners love. A few species in the Mediterranean and southern Asia are evergreen, keeping their leaves year-round. Many maples are shade-tolerant when they are young. They often grow as understory or riparian species, though the sugar maple can sometimes form monodominant forests.

In the world of gardening, maples are incredibly popular. The Japanese maple (*Acer palmatum*) is a standout example, with over 1,000 different cultivars. These cultivars are often created through asexual reproduction, such as grafting or budding. Some maples are even used in the art of bonsai, where they are grown in small pots to look like miniature trees. People also plant them for their unique bark or flowers. For instance, the *Acer griseum* is frequently grown specifically for its decorative bark.

Beyond science and gardening, maples hold great cultural significance. The maple leaf is a powerful symbol of strength and endurance. It is most famously used on the national flag of Canada. The design on the Canadian flag is a stylized eleven-point leaf modeled after the sugar maple. Maples are also part of the identity of many places, such as the coat of arms of Sammatti in Finland. Because they are so widespread and beautiful, maples have become an enduring part of human history and global symbolism.