Maple

The maple is a group of 125 species of trees found in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Most maple species are tall trees that grow 30-145' tall although there are some species that are more shrub-like. The leaves are generally palmately veined and lobed (3-9 lobes) with the veins spreading through the lobes. The flowers appear in sweet-smelling clusters in Late Winter or Early Spring and are followed samaras or "maple keys." These seeds have papery wings that children love to call "helicopters" and "whirlybirds" due to the spinning motion as they fall. All maples can be tapped for their sap which is turned into maple sryup and maple sugar. One of the most well known of the North American maples is the Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum).