User:Circeus/Maple

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Maple
Boxelder (A. negundo)
Boxelder (A. negundo)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Sapindales
Family: Aceraceae
Genus: Acer
L.
Species

See List of Acer species.

Maples are trees or shrubs of the genus Acer. They are found in the northern hemisphere and recognized through their characteristic fruits: the disamara. Other characteristics, such as sexuality, leaf and flower structure, tend to vary widely within the genus. Maples, especially the Japanese and Red Maples, are frequently planted as ornamental plants due to the vivid colours they acquire in autumn. These colours are due to the presence of anthocyanins in the leaves. Maple syrup and hardwood are economically important products in North America.

Contents

[edit] Etymology and names

Maples bear a multitude of common names in various languages, the etymology of which is often confusing or uncertain. The english "maple"is a shortening of Old English mapultreow "maple-tree", which traces to a Proto-Germanic root *maplo- (Old Norse möpurr, Old Saxon mapulder, Middle Low German mapeldorn), of uncertain origins.[1]

The botanical Latin name Acer is the Classical Latin word for "maple". Unlike other Latin names of trees, which are of feminine gender, Acer is neutral, a usage already established by the time of Christ.[2] Acer is frequently mistaken as related to the adjective ācer, ācris, "sharp, pointy", which itself derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *H₂eḱ- "sharp".[2][3] However, this is unlikely because the adjective has a long vowel, whereas the noun displays a short one.[4]

There were likely two different Proto-Indo-European roots for "maple", one, *klen- is the source of Old Norse hlynr, Old English hlyn, Russian клён, Polish klon, Lithuanian klevas ann.[5] Greek gleinon is probably related, and the source of Medieval Latin clenus.[2] In turn, hlynr gave rise to the later German words, now in disuse, Limbaum and Lehne (the latter transferring to Lindens),[2] and to the common modern names in Swedish (lönn) and Danish (lun and lünd).[6] All these words traces to a Proto-Germanic *hluniz.[7] Acer probably traces back to a separate root and has cognates in German Ahorn, Danish ær (the Sycamore Maple, A. pseudoplatanus), and, possibly, Ancient Greek akarna, "sweet bay or Olympian Maple". The relationship of Vedic Sanskrit akráḥ is less certain.[8]

French érable and Spanish arce both derive more or less directly from acer. Érable comes from Late Latin acerabulus. The -abulus part may come either from the Gaulish word abolos, "Rowan tree", or from Latin opulus, "a type of maple, probably A. opalus"[9] (cf. synonym Acer opulifolium[10] "Maple with Opulus leaves"[11]). Arce is a metathesis of acer.

The Chinese character for maple is 楓 (Simplified: 枫; Pinyin: fēng), its constituents are the characters for "tree" and "wind".[12] 楓 is also the Japanese kanji for kaede (although the katakana spelling カエデ is more usual), but in the botanical sense, 槭 (Pinyin: cù) is preferable, as 楓 is also the botanical character used for some species of sweetgums. Kaede is probably a shortening of kaerude, from kaeru, "frog", and te, "hand". The word momiji (モミジ) is a synonym of kaede and would come from momizu, an Old Japanese word for "to change color", specifically red or yellow.[13]

[edit] Taxinomy

Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or (together with the Hippocastanaceae) included in the Sapindaceae. Philogenetic data confirms close relationships between all three families, which, due to their respective monophyly, can also be kept separate. Within the Sapindaceae, they are either placed with Dipteronia in subfamily Aceroideae or with the species of Hippocastanaceae in Hippocastanoideae.

The classifications of Acer species is made more complex by morphologic variation within the genus' numerous species.

[edit] For reference

Sugar Maple leaves in fall
Sugar Maple leaves in fall

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.

Maples flower in late winter or early spring, in most species with or just after the leaves appear, but in some before them. Their flowers are small and inconspicuous, though the effect of an entire avenue of maples in flower can be striking. They have five sepals, five petals about 1 to 6 mm long, 12 stamens about 6-10 mm long in two rings of six, 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. Within a few weeks to six months of flowering, the trees drop large numbers of seeds.

Maples are an important early spring source of pollen and nectar for bees, especially honeybees, which use its resources for spring buildup. Maples are used as a food plant for the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species (see List of Lepidoptera which feed on Maples).

[edit] Uses and symbolism

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.

The flag of Canada depicts a stylized maple leaf and is a prominent national symbol.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Maple". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved on 2006-07-28. 
  2. ^ a b c d Van Gelderen, pp. 15-16
  3. ^ "Acrid". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved on 2006-07-28. 
  4. ^ Friedrich, pp 67-68
  5. ^ Friedrich, pp 64-69
  6. ^ Pirc, p. 12
  7. ^ Friedrich, p64.
  8. ^ Friedrich, pp. 65-67
  9. ^ (French) "Acer". Larousse des arbres et arbustes (new edition). (2004). Ed. Brosse, Jacques. Larousse. 22. ISBN 2035054567. 
  10. ^ Acer opalus. In Flora Europaea. Retrieved on 2006-07-28
  11. ^ Brosse, "Acer opulifolium", p. 26
  12. ^ Zhongwen.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-28.
  13. ^ Hayashida, Hajime. The origin of the name maple. The Maple. Retrieved on 2006-07-28.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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