{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{Other uses}} {{Redirect|Acer (plant)|the company|Acer Inc.}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossil range|Late Paleocene | Recent|earliest=66.5}} | image = Acer pseudoplatanus 002.jpg | image_caption = Spring foliage of ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', the sycamore maple | taxon = Acer | authority = L. | range_map = Map genus Acer.png | range_map_caption = {{legend0|#008000| range of genus}} | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See either <br/>species grouped by sections<br/>alphabetical list of species }}
'''''Acer''''' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as '''maples'''. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.<ref name="Joyce-2023">{{cite journal | last1=Joyce | first1=Elizabeth M. | last2=Appelhans | first2=Marc S. | last3=Buerki | first3=Sven | last4=Cheek | first4=Martin | last5=de Vos | first5=Jurriaan M. | last6=Pirani | first6=José R. | last7=Zuntini | first7=Alexandre R. | last8=Bachelier | first8=Julien B. | last9=Bayly | first9=Michael J. | last10=Callmander | first10=Martin W. | last11=Devecchi | first11=Marcelo F. | last12=Pell | first12=Susan K. | last13=Groppo | first13=Milton | last14=Lowry | first14=Porter P. | last15=Mitchell | first15=John | last16=Siniscalchi | first16=Carolina M. | last17=Munzinger | first17=Jérôme | last18=Orel | first18=Harvey K. | last19=Pannell | first19=Caroline M. | last20=Nauheimer | first20=Lars | last21=Sauquet | first21=Hervé | last22=Weeks | first22=Andrea | last23=Muellner-Riehl | first23=Alexandra N. | last24=Leitch | first24=Ilia J. | last25=Maurin | first25=Olivier | last26=Forest | first26=Félix | last27=Nargar | first27=Katharina | last28=Thiele | first28=Kevin R. | last29=Baker | first29=William J. | last30=Crayn | first30=Darren M. | title=Phylogenomic analyses of Sapindales support new family relationships, rapid Mid-Cretaceous Hothouse diversification, and heterogeneous histories of gene duplication | journal=Frontiers in Plant Science | publisher=Frontiers Media SA | volume=14 | date=2023-03-07 | issn=1664-462X | doi=10.3389/fpls.2023.1063174 | doi-access=free | article-number=1063174 | pmid=36959945 | pmc=10028101 | bibcode=2023FrPS...1463174J }}</ref><ref name="Stevens-2001">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/.</ref> There are approximately 132 species, most of which are native to East Asia,<ref>{{eFloras|2|100167|Acer|first1=Tingzhi|last1=Xu|first2=Yousheng|last2=Chen|first3=Piet C.|last3=de Jong|first4=Herman John|last4=Oterdoom|first5=Chin-Sung|last5=Chang|volume=11|access-date=27 May 2012}}</ref> with a number also appearing in Europe, northern Africa, and North America. Only one species, ''Acer laurinum'', extends to the Southern Hemisphere.<ref name="Gibbs-2009">Gibbs, D. & Chen, Y. (2009) [http://www.bgci.org/files/Worldwide/News/sepdec09/maples_red_list.pdf The Red List of Maples] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528200257/http://www.bgci.org/files/Worldwide/News/sepdec09/maples_red_list.pdf |date=2019-05-28 }} Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) {{ISBN|978-1-905164-31-8}}</ref> The type species of the genus is the sycamore maple ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', one of the most common maple species in Europe.<ref name="van Gelderen-1999">van Gelderen, C. J. & van Gelderen, D. M. (1999). ''Maples for Gardens: A Color Encyclopedia'' {{ISBN|978-0-585-25457-9}} </ref> Most maples have easily identifiable palmate leaves (with a few exceptions, such as ''Acer carpinifolium'', ''Acer laurinum'', and ''Acer negundo'') and all share distinctive winged fruits. The closest relative of the maples is the small east Asian genus ''Dipteronia'', followed by the more widespread genus ''Aesculus'' (buckeyes and horse-chestnuts).<ref name="Joyce-2023"/> 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 and often decorative foliage, some also for their attractive flowers, fruit, or bark.<ref name="Crowley-2020">[https://treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/acer/] Crowley (2020) Acer L. from the website Trees and Shrubs Online</ref>
==Evolutionary history== [[File:Acer florissanti UCMP-3831 NPS img1.jpg|thumb|A leaf fossil of ''Acer florissanti'' from the Late Eocene in the Florissant Formation, Florissant, Colorado, United States]] 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).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Areces-Berazain |first1=Fabiola |last2=Hinsinger |first2=Damien D. |last3=Strijk |first3=Joeri S. |date=March 2021 |title=Genome-wide supermatrix analyses of maples (Acer, Sapindaceae) reveal recurring inter-continental migration, mass extinction, and rapid lineage divergence |journal=Genomics |language=en |volume=113 |issue=2 |pages=681–692 |doi=10.1016/j.ygeno.2021.01.014|pmid=33508445 |s2cid=231754169 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
==Morphology== [[File:Acer saccharum.jpg|thumb|''Acer saccharum'' (sugar maple)]] Most maples or acers are trees growing to a height of {{convert|10|-|45|m|abbr=on}}. Others are shrubs less than 10 meters tall with a number of small trunks originating at about ground level. Most species are deciduous, and many are renowned for their autumn leaf colours, but a few in southern Asia and the Mediterranean region are mostly evergreen. Most are shade-tolerant when young and are often riparian, understory, or pioneer species rather than climax overstory trees. There are a few exceptions such as sugar maple, which may form monodominant forests. Many of the root systems are typically dense and fibrous, inhibiting the growth of other vegetation underneath them. A few species, notably ''Acer cappadocicum'', frequently produce root sprouts, which can develop into clonal colonies.<ref name="van Gelderen-1999"/>
[[File:Vine Maple leaves and flowers.jpg|thumb|''Acer circinatum'' (vine maple) leaves showing the palmate veining typical of most species]] Maples are distinguished by opposite leaf arrangement. The leaves in most species are palmate veined and lobed, with 3 to 9 (rarely to 13) veins each leading to a lobe, one of which is central or apical. A small number of species differ in having palmate compound, 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 ''Acer rubrum'', may be monoecious, dioecious or polygamodioecious. The flowers are regular, pentamerous, and borne in racemes, corymbs, or umbels. They have four or five sepals, four or five petals about 1–6 mm long (absent in some species), four to ten stamens about 6–10 mm long, and two pistils or a pistil with two styles. The ovary is superior and has two 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.<ref name="Huxley-1992">Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan {{ISBN|0-333-47494-5}}.</ref>
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.
[[File:3D rendering of a µCT scan of a maple seed.ogv|thumb|right|3D rendering of a μCT scan of a samara. Resolution is about 45 μm/voxel.]] The distinctive fruits are called samaras, "maple keys", "helicopters", "whirlybirds" or "polynoses". These seeds occur in distinctive pairs each containing one seed enclosed in a "nutlet" attached to a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue. They are shaped to spin as they fall and to carry the seeds a considerable distance on the wind. People often call them "helicopters" due to the way that they spin as they fall. During World War II, the US Army developed a special airdrop supply carrier that could carry up to {{convert|65|lb}} of supplies and was based on the maple seed.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=gN8DAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Mechanics+Science+installing+linoleum&pg=PA75 "Sky Hook Spirals from Plane"] ''Popular Mechanics'', December 1944, p. 75.</ref> Seed maturation is usually in a few weeks to six months after flowering, with seed dispersal shortly after maturity. However, one tree can release hundreds of thousands of seeds at a time. Depending on the species, the seeds can be small and green to orange and big with thicker seed pods. The green seeds are released in pairs, sometimes with the stems still connected. The yellow seeds are released individually and almost always without the stems. Most species require stratification in order to germinate, and some seeds can remain dormant in the soil for several years before germinating.<ref name="van Gelderen-1999"/>
The genus ''Acer'', together with genus ''Dipteronia'', were formerly often classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, but recent botanical consensus, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, includes them in the family Sapindaceae; their exclusion from Sapindaceae would leave that family paraphyletic. Within Sapindaceae, ''Acer'' is placed in the subfamily Hippocastanoideae.<ref name="Joyce-2023"/> The genus is subdivided by its morphology into a multitude of sections and subsections.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inh.co.jp/~hayasida/Ebunrui1.html|title=Classification of Genus ''Acer''|date=12 August 2007|access-date=19 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812014108/http://www.inh.co.jp/~hayasida/Ebunrui1.html|archive-date=12 August 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Areces-Berazain|first1=Fabiola|last2=Wang|first2=Yixi|last3=Hinsinger|first3=Damien D.|last4=Strijk|first4=Joeri S.|date=2020-07-13|title=Plastome comparative genomics in maples resolves the infrageneric backbone relationships|journal=PeerJ|language=en|volume=8|article-number=e9483|doi=10.7717/peerj.9483|issn=2167-8359|pmc=7365138|pmid=32742784 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Molecular studies incorporating DNA sequence data from both chloroplast and nuclear genomes, aiming to resolve the internal relationships and reconstruct the evolutionary 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.<ref name="Renner-2008">{{Cite journal|last1=Renner|first1=Susanne S|last2=Grimm|first2=Guido W|last3=Schneeweiss|first3=Gerald M|last4=Stuessy|first4=Tod F|last5=Ricklefs|first5=Robert E|date=2008-10-01|title=Rooting and Dating Maples (Acer) with an Uncorrelated-Rates Molecular Clock: Implications for North American/Asian Disjunctions|journal=Systematic Biology|volume=57|issue=5|pages=795–808|doi=10.1080/10635150802422282|pmid=18853365|issn=1063-5157|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Areces-Berazain|first1=Fabiola|last2=Hinsinger|first2=Damien D.|last3=Strijk|first3=Joeri S.|date=2021-03-01|title=Genome-wide supermatrix analyses of maples (Acer, Sapindaceae) reveal recurring inter-continental migration, mass extinction, and rapid lineage divergence|journal=Genomics|language=en|volume=113|issue=2|pages=681–692|doi=10.1016/j.ygeno.2021.01.014|pmid=33508445|issn=0888-7543|doi-access=free}}</ref> Fifty-four species of maples meet the International Union for Conservation of Nature criteria for being under threat of extinction in their native habitat.<ref name="Gibbs-2009" />
==Pests and diseases== [[File:RhytismaAcerinumDetailU.jpg|thumb|''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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://enpp.auburn.edu/outreach/web-publications/greenstriped-mapleworm/|title=Auburn University Entomology and Plant Pathology. Greenstriped Mapleworm|website=Auburn University Entomology and Plant Pathology|language=en|access-date=2017-11-14|archive-date=2017-11-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171103005334/http://enpp.auburn.edu/outreach/web-publications/greenstriped-mapleworm/}}</ref> Aphids are also very common sap-feeders on maples, they are a natural part of herbivorous insect communities on maples, though they may become pests when accumulated in large densities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=McDermot |first1=Covel R. |last2=Minocha |first2=Rakesh |last3=Iii |first3=Vince D'Amico |last4=Long |first4=Stephanie |last5=Trammell |first5=Tara L. E. |date=2020-07-24 |title=Red maple (Acer rubrum L.) trees demonstrate acclimation to urban conditions in deciduous forests embedded in cities |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=15 |issue=7 |article-number=e0236313 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0236313 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=7380610 |pmid=32706781 |bibcode=2020PLoSO..1536313M }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Service |date=2015-10-13 |title=Not Found |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/pest-control-tips/aphids.html |access-date=2026-04-07 |website=www.canada.ca}}</ref> In horticultural applications a dimethoate spray will solve this.
Aphid abundance has been shown to depend on tree condition and host species.<ref name=":0" />Different maple species support distinct insect communities, one study found that aphid populations were much more abundant on Sycamore maple and lower on Norway maple.<ref name=":0" />Variations in tree health and pest populations are also closely linked as both are influenced by environmental conditions; factors such as urban stress, drought, soil conditions, and pollution can affect tree vitality and alter insect abundance.<ref name=":0" />This relationship is consistent with the plant stress hypothesis which proposes that environmental stress can modify plant defences and, in some cases, increase susceptibility to herbivorous insects.<ref name=":0" />
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259640035|title=Fact Sheets|website=researchgate.net|access-date=19 November 2017}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/dailyplant/16597 September 18, 2003 Asian Longhorned Beetle discovered in York Region] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060114221329/http://www.region.york.on.ca/Publications/News/2003/September%2B18%2C%2B2003%2BAsian%2BLonghorned%2BBeetle%2Bdiscovered%2Bin%2BYork%2BRegion.htm |date=January 14, 2006 }}</ref>
Maples are affected by a number of fungal diseases. Several are susceptible to Verticillium wilt caused by ''Verticillium'' species, which can cause significant local mortality. Sooty bark disease, caused by ''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.<ref name="Phillips-1992">Phillips, D. H. & Burdekin, D. A. (1992). ''Diseases of Forest and Ornamental Trees''. Macmillan. {{ISBN|0-333-49493-8}}.</ref>
==Cultural significance== thumb|The Canadian flag incorporates a stylized maple leaf [[File:Sammatti.vaakuna.svg|thumb|upright=0.7|The maple leaf and samaras in the coat of arms of Sammatti]] A maple leaf appears on the coat of arms of Canada, and is on the Canadian flag. The maple is a common symbol of strength and endurance and has been chosen as the national tree of Canada. Maple leaves are traditionally an important part of 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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fraser.cc/FlagsCan/Nation/NatSym.html#r10|title=National Symbols|website=The Flag of Canada|date=1998|access-date=19 November 2017|first=Alistair B. |last=Fraser}}</ref> where the sugar maple is significant, today's arboreal emblem of Canada rather refers to a generic maple.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1444070816842/1444070816844|title=Official symbols of Canada - Canada.ca|first=Canadian|last=Heritage|website=Canada.pch.gc.ca|access-date=19 November 2017}}</ref> The design on the flag is an eleven-point stylization modeled after a sugar maple leaf (which normally bears 23 points).<ref>{{cite book |last1= Sandberg|first1=L. Anders |date= 2014|title=Urban Forests, Trees, and Greenspace: A Political Ecology Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BRMWBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA182 |publisher=Routledge |isbn= 978-1-134-68763-3}}</ref>
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 Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales'', spelled as "mapul".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/113861|title=maple, n.1|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=19 November 2017|via=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref> The maple is also a symbol of Hiroshima, ubiquitous in the local ''meibutsu''.
A maple leaf, along with samaras, appears in the coat of arms of Sammatti, a former municipality of Uusimaa, Finland.<ref>{{cite book | title = Suomen kunnallisvaakunat | publisher = Suomen Kunnallisliitto | year = 1982 | page = 161 | isbn = 951-773-085-3 | language = fi}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Sisäasiainministeriön vahvistamat kaupunkien, kauppaloiden ja kuntien vaakunat 1949-1995 I:13 Sammatti | url = http://digi.narc.fi/digi/fullpic.ka?kuid=1637005 | publisher = Kansallisarkiston digitaaliarkisto | access-date = September 9, 2021 | language = fi }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==Uses== ===Horticulture=== [[File:Maple between pines.jpg|thumb|left|A red maple tree highlighted between spruce trees]] [[File:Acer palmatum sango kaku.jpg|thumb|right|''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 ornamental trees by homeowners, businesses, and municipalities due to their fall colour, relatively fast growth, ease of transplanting, and lack of hard seeds that would pose a problem for mowing lawns. Particularly popular are Norway maple (although it is considered invasive in North America), silver maple, Japanese maple, and 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.<ref name="van Gelderen-1999"/>
====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. [[File:Japanese Maple 'Kiyohime'.jpg|thumb|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==== thumb|left|"Roter Fächerahorn" Maples are a popular choice for the art of bonsai. Japanese maple (''Acer palmatum''), trident maple (''A. buergerianum''), Amur maple (''A. ginnala''), field maple (''A. campestre'') and Montpellier maple (''A. monspessulanum'') are popular choices and respond well to techniques that encourage leaf reduction and ramification, but most species can be used.<ref name="van Gelderen-1999"/><ref name="D'Cruz-2014">{{cite web | first=Mark | last=D'Cruz | title=Ma-Ke Bonsai Care Guide for ''Acer buergerianum'' | publisher=Ma-Ke Bonsai | url=http://makebonsai.com/guide/bonsailink.asp?quicklink=5030&name=Acer_buergerianum | access-date=2011-07-05 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714022834/http://www.makebonsai.com/guide/bonsailink.asp?quicklink=5030&name=Acer_buergerianum | archive-date=2011-07-14 }}</ref>
====Collections==== [[File:Acer griseum3.jpg|thumb|''Acer griseum'' is widely grown for its decorative bark]] Maple collections, sometimes called ''aceretums'', occupy space in many gardens and arboreta around the world including the "five great W's" in England: Wakehurst Place Garden, Westonbirt Arboretum, Windsor Great Park, Winkworth Arboretum and Wisley Garden. In the United States, the aceretum at the Harvard-owned Arnold Arboretum in Boston is especially notable. In the number of species and cultivars, the Esveld Aceretum in Boskoop, Netherlands, is the largest in the world.<ref name="van Gelderen-1999"/>
===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.<ref name="Zandona">{{cite web|last=Zandona|first=Eric|title=Tennessee Whiskey Gets a Legal Definition|url=http://www.ezdrinking.com/ezdrinking/2013/9/14/tennessee-whiskey-gets-a-legal-definition|work=EZdrinking|access-date=2014-01-11|archive-date=2014-01-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107200404/http://www.ezdrinking.com/ezdrinking/2013/9/14/tennessee-whiskey-gets-a-legal-definition}}</ref> They are also cultivated as ornamental plants and have benefits for tourism and agriculture.
====Timber==== thumb|A bench made of highly figured maple wood Some of the larger maple species have valuable timber, particularly Sugar maple in North America and Sycamore maple in Europe. Sugar maple wood—often known as "hard maple"—is the wood of choice for bowling pins, bowling alley lanes, pool and snooker cue shafts, and butcher's blocks. Maple wood is also used for the manufacture of wooden baseball bats, though less often than 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.<ref>[http://www.hitrunscore.com/sam-bat-maple-baseball-bat-biography.html Sam Holman Maple Baseball Bats] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100516023403/http://www.hitrunscore.com/sam-bat-maple-baseball-bat-biography.html |date=2010-05-16 }}</ref> Maple is also commonly used in archery as the core material in the limbs of a recurve bow due to its stiffness and strength.{{citation needed|date = March 2025}}
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ahec.org/hardwoods/pdfs/IllustratedGradingGuide.pdf|title=Publications|website=Ahec.org|access-date=19 November 2017|archive-date=24 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724025241/http://ahec.org/hardwoods/pdfs/illustratedgradingguide.pdf}}</ref>
Some maple wood has a highly decorative wood grain, variously known as flame maple, quilt maple, 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.{{citation needed|date = March 2025}}
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.<ref>[http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/_figure.htm Wood Terms and Examples] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100314144353/http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/_figure.htm |date=2010-03-14 }}</ref>
Maples have a long history of use for furniture production in the United States.<ref name="Aronson-1965">{{cite book|author=Joseph Aronson|title=The encyclopedia of furniture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j3XWBk-qMV0C&pg=PT300|access-date=8 September 2010|year=1965|publisher=Random House, Inc.|isbn=978-0-517-03735-5|pages=300–}}</ref> The Cherokee people would produce a purple dye from maple bark, which they used to dye cloth.<ref>{{Citation |contribution=History of the Cherokees, 1830–1846 |title=Chronicles of Oklahoma |last1=Knight |first1=Oliver |publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society|place=Oklahoma City|year=1956–57|page=164|oclc=647927893 |language=en }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-last=Foreman |author-first=Grant |title=The Five Civilized Tribes |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |location=Norman |year=1934 |pages=283–284 |language=en |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gGtLnSkqkekC&pg=PA283 |isbn=978-0-8061-0923-7 }}</ref>
====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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fender.com/en-GB/news/index.php/?display_article=395 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-11-14 |archive-date=2021-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302174809/https://www.fender.com/en-GB/news/index.php/?display_article=395 }}</ref>
The back, sides, and neck of most violins, violas, cellos, and double basses are made from maple.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bucur |first=Voichita |title=Handbook of Materials for String Musical Instruments |chapter=Description of String Instruments for Classical Music |publisher=Springer |location=Cham |year=2016 |pages=43–45 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-32080-9_2 |isbn=978-3-319-32080-9 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-32080-9_2}}</ref>
Electric guitar necks are commonly made from maple, having good dimensional stability. The necks of the Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster were originally an entirely maple one piece neck, but later were also available with rosewood fingerboards. Les Paul desired an all maple guitar, but due to the weight of maple, only the tops of 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.{{citation needed|date = March 2025}}
Maple is also often used to make bassoons and sometimes other woodwind instruments such as recorders.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bucur |first=Voichita |title=Handbook of Materials for Wind Musical Instruments |chapter=Wood Species for Reed-Driven Instruments—Clarinet, Oboe, Bassoon and for Baroque Flute |publisher=Springer |location=Cham |year=2019 |pages=127–166 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-19175-7_3 |isbn=978-3-030-19175-7 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-19175-7_3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Types of Wood for Recorders |url=https://www.vonhuene.com/t-recorderwood.aspx |website=The Von Huene Workshop |access-date=2026-04-18}}</ref>
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.<ref name="van Gelderen-1999"/> Maple drums are favored for their bright resonant sound.<ref name="Nicholls-1997">{{cite book|author1=Geoff Nicholls|author2=Tony Bacon|title=The drum book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rWq1_qnZ0mAC&pg=PT54|access-date=19 October 2010|date=1 June 1997|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=978-0-87930-476-8|pages=54–}}</ref> Certain drum sticks are also made from maple.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wengert |first=Gene |title=Tips for young drummers about wooden drumsticks |website=Woodworking Network |date=2012-11-14 |url=https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/magazine/fdmc-magazine/tips-young-drummers-about-wooden-drumsticks}}</ref>
====Agriculture==== During late winter to early spring in northeastern North America, when the night-to-day temperatures change from freezing to thawing, maple trees may be tapped for sap to manufacture maple syrup.<ref name="QMSP-2021">{{cite web|url=https://ppaq.ca/en/maple-production/step-by-step-production-maple-syrup/ |title=Step-by-Step in the Production of Maple Syrup |publisher=Québec Maple Syrup Producers |date=2021|access-date=4 October 2021}}</ref> The sap is sent via tubing to a sugar house where it is boiled to produce syrup or made into maple sugar or maple taffy. It takes about {{convert|40|L|USqt}} of sugar maple sap to make {{convert|1|L|USqt}} of syrup.<ref name="QMSP-2021"/> While any ''Acer'' species may be tapped for syrup, many do not have sufficient quantities of sugar to be commercially useful, whereas sugar maples (''A. saccharum'') are most commonly used to produce maple syrup.<ref name="QMSP-2021"/> Quebec is a major producer of maple syrup, an industry worth about 500 million Canadian dollars annually.<ref name="QMSP-2021"/><ref name="Marowits-2017">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-maple-syrup-production-increase-1.3990828|title=Quebec increases maple syrup production amid internal revolt, foreign competition|author=Marowits, Ross|publisher=CBC|date=20 February 2017|access-date=21 May 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518192634/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-maple-syrup-production-increase-1.3990828|archive-date=18 May 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
Also, as these trees are a major source of pollen in early spring before many other plants have flowered, maple flowers are a source of foraging for honeybees that play a commercially important role in general agriculture and in natural habitats.<ref name="ArborDay-2021">{{cite web |title=Trees for bees and other pollinators |url=https://www.arborday.org/trees/health/pests/article-trees-for-bees.cfm |publisher=Arbor Day Foundation |access-date=5 October 2021 |date=2021}}</ref>
====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. With a lignin content of approximately 21%, maple is often processed into high yield pulp to enhance printing properties.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=He Shi |last2=Hongbin Liu |last3=Yonghao Ni |last4=Zhirun Yuan |last5=Xuejun Zou |last6=Zhou |first6=Yajun |date=2012-05-01 |title=REVIEW: USE OF OPTICAL BRIGHTENING AGENTS (OBAs) IN THE PRODUCTION OF PAPER CONTAINING HIGH-YIELD PULPS |url=http://ojs.cnr.ncsu.edu/index.php/BioRes/article/view/BioRes_07_2_2582_Shi_LNYZZ_Review_OBAs_High_Yield_Pulp/1529 |journal=BioResources |language=en |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=2582–2591 |issn=1930-2126}}</ref>
===Tourism=== Many maples have bright autumn foliage, and many countries have leaf-watching traditions. The sugar maple (''Acer saccharum''), whose leaves turn brilliant orange, is the primary contributor to fall "foliage season" in north-eastern North America. In Japan, the custom of viewing the changing colour of maples in the autumn is called ''momijigari''. Nikkō and Kyoto are particularly favoured destinations for this activity. In Korea, the same viewing activity is called ''danpung-nori'' and the Seoraksan and Naejang-san mountains are among the best-known destinations. These are examples of ecosystem services are examples of cultural ecosystem services that hold relational value. <ref>{{Cite report |url=https://zenodo.org/record/6522392 |title=Summary for policymakers of the methodological assessment of the diverse values and valuation of nature of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) |last=Unai |first=Pascual |date=2022-07-09 |publisher=Zenodo |doi=10.5281/zenodo.6522392 |language=en}}</ref>
===Gallery=== <gallery mode="packed"> File:台灣三角楓 Acer buergerianum var. formosanum 20220411100147 08.jpg|''Acer buergerianum var. formosanum'' leaves and fruit Image:Acer cappadocicum spring.jpg|''Acer cappadocicum'' (Cappadocian maple) Image:Acer carpinifolium.jpg|''Acer carpinifolium'' leaves Image:Acer ginnala.jpg|''Acer ginnala'' foliage Image:Bi-colored Maple Tree.jpg|''Acer grandidentatum'' (bigtooth maple) in autumn colour Image:Paperbark Maple Acer griseum Leaves Closeup 2856px.jpg|''Acer griseum'' (paperbark maple) Image:Acer laevigatum 3.jpg|''Acer laevigatum'' leaves and fruit Image:Acer macrophyllum 0304.jpg|''Acer macrophyllum'' flowers and young leaves File:青楓 Acer serrulatum 20210419095802 02.jpg|''Acer oliverianum'' trunk Image:TenryujiMomiji.jpg|''Acer palmatum'' trees and bamboo in Japan Image:Red maple leaf.jpg|''Acer palmatum'' leaf in autumn Image:Maple leaf Fcb981.JPG|''Acer platanoides'' leaf Image:Helicopter leaves.jpg|''Acer platanoides'' (Norway maple) samaras File:Acer rubrum 1-eheep (5097479399).jpg|''Acer rubrum'' leaves File:Red maple.png|''Acer rubrum'' tree in autumn Image:Acer sempervirens leaves.jpg|''Acer sempervirens'' foliage Image:Autumn Blaze Maple Foliage.jpg|''Acer'' × ''freemanii'' 'Autumn Blaze' (a cross between ''A. rubrum'' and ''A. saccharinum'' File:Maple acer stem 1 year 100x.jpg|Maple acer stem 1 year 100x actual diameter 2.0-2.2mm </gallery>
==See also== {{Commons category|Acer}} * List of ''Acer'' species * List of Award of Garden Merit maples * List of Danish Acers * Mazer – a drinking vessel made from maple wood * List of foods made from maple
==References== === Citations === {{Reflist}}<ref>{{Cite book |title=Maples for gardens: a color encyclopedia |publisher=Timber Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-585-25457-9}}</ref>
=== General bibliography === * {{cite book|last=Philips|first=Roger|title=Trees of North America and Europe|publisher=Random House, Inc.|location=New York|isbn=0-394-50259-0|year=1979|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/treesofnorthamer00phil}}
{{Woodworking}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q42292}} {{authority control}}
Category:Articles containing video clips Category:Maple Category:Plant dyes Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus