Which species of maple are the most common?

Maple is a tree of amazing beauty, especially in autumn, when its crown shimmers with all shades of yellow-red. The color palette is very diverse, here there are colors such as yellow, golden yellow, orange, brown-red, purple, olive, lemon, orange-red.

In different parts of the world, there are species of maple that are very different in crown, leaf shape, fruit shape and other characteristics, although they belong to the same genus - Acer L., which numbers about 160 species. Earlier maples belonged to the Klenov family, now they were placed in the Sapindaceae family.

How to determine the type of maple

The species of maple can be distinguished by the shape of the leaves. The maple of the holly has familiar shapes - five blades, the maple has three to five field maples, the maple leaf can be up to nine, Maple Manchurian has three leaves on the petiole. Maple fruits are also different. Diclobulins externally have the appearance of dragonfly wings, which in different species are at different angles: in the maple leaf - under the straight, in the light maple the angle is obtuse, and in the maple wing maple are located in a straight line.

How and where maples grow

Usually maples are trees growing in height from 10 to 40 m, but there are species of cluster maples. Such bushes have several branches from the base of the trunk, sometimes reaching ten meters in height. The maples we know are deciduous plants, but there are also evergreen maple species that grow in South Asia and the Mediterranean region.

The most complete variety of maple species is represented in the mountainous regions of East Asia. Scientists suggest that it was from here that he began moving to other places. Maples grow in Europe, North and Central America, South Asia, North Africa. Interestingly, in Australia and South America these trees are not found at all.

Maples in Russia

In Russia the maple appeared several centuries ago, and the first was the rock of the holly maple, which was planted in monastery and boyar gardens. A little later in the park culture began to use other species of maple - Tatar, Manchu, ash-leaf. Now in the vastness of Russia, 20 species of maples grow, among them the most common maple is Tatar, maple white (pseudo-plannate), maple field, maple, holly (sycamore).

Maple holly has received the greatest distribution. This is a tall tree (up to 28 m), which has a dense spherical crown. In young trees the bark is smooth, gray-brown in color, eventually becomes almost black and becomes covered with longitudinal cracks.

The maple of the field reaches a height of 15 m, it has a trunk with a brownish bark and a dense spherical crown. Well tolerates the haircut, so sometimes used for hedges, but more often for group and single planting.

Maple Tatar - a low tree with a smooth, almost black, bark. It has a smart appearance not only in autumn, but also in the summer, when its numerous red-pink fruit-lilies ripen.

A white maple (also called a sycamore) can reach a height of 35 m. It has a wide domed crown. The bark on the young trees is white, darkens with age and flakes. Wood is used in the manufacture of musical instruments, for the production and decorative facing of furniture.

How Maple Is Used

In the old days in Russia, maple sap was obtained from maples in the spring and syrup was boiled. Now birch juice is extracted by this method, and the maple juice is forgotten. In Canada, maple is widely used for the production of maple syrup and further industrial production of sugar. The kind of maple used for this purpose is called - the maple sugar, whose leaf is depicted on the flag of Canada.

For the production of wood, maple species that grow in the area are used. So, in North America it is a maple sugar, in European countries - maple is white.

Maples in Japan

In Japan, maple is especially revered as a symbol of greatness and eternity. It is often used to create bonsai. Especially cultivated glandular maple. A lot of its garden forms are distinguished, differing in the variety of the colorings of the leaves and the elegance of their shape. Such maple plantations can be compared with the most vivid floral compositions.

The following maple species are represented on the photo:

• Photo 1 - leaves of the maple tree;
• Photo 2-leaf maple white;
• Photo 3- Tatar maple;
• Photo 4 - maple sugar;
• Photo 5 - Japanese maples.