 Maple
Description
Maples are trees or shrubs of the genus Acer. They are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or (together with the Hippocastanaceae) included in the Sapindaceae. This is a debate of very long standing, and Angiosperm Phylogeny Group favours a wide circumscription, as a matter of style.
Maples are distinguished by opposite leaf arrangement. The leaves are usually palmately lobed, although palmate compound, pinnate compound, pinnate veined or unlobed shapes occur. The flowers are regular, pentamerous, and borne in racemes, corymbs, or umbels. Their distinctive fruits occur in pairs, called keys (more generally known as samaras), shaped to spin as they fall and carry the seeds a considerable distance on the wind. The derivation of the genus name "acer" is uncertain, as it is a very old name. One of the options is that derives from the Latin acris (sharp), from the hardness of the wood, supposedly used for spears in the past.
The leaves in most species are palmately veined and lobed, with 3-9 veins each leading to a lobe, one of which is in the middle. Several species, including the Paperbark Maple Acer griseum, Manchurian Maple Acer mandshuricum, Nikko Maple Acer maximowicziana, and Three-flower Maple Acer triflorum, have trifoliate leaves. The Manitoba Maple (Acer negundo) has pinnately compound leaves that may be simply trifoliate or may have 5, 7, or rarely 9 leaflets. One maple, the Hornbeam Maple Acer carpinifolium, has pinnately-veined simple leaves that resemble those of hornbeams.
Uses
Maples are important as cultivated ornamental plants, for syrup sources and timber production. Some species have bright autumnal leaf coloring. The Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) is tapped for sap, which is then boiled to produce maple syrup or made into maple sugar or maple candy. Quebec is the world's largest producer of maple sugar products. Sugar Maple wood, known as hard maple, is the wood of choice for bowling pins, bowling alley lanes, drums and butcher's blocks.
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