Acer /?e?s?r/ is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple. The genus is placed in the Sapindaceae family. There are approximately 128 speciesNote that its trunk skin, unlike Sycamore; the shape of leaf, however, look like Sycamore maple!
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Cultural significance
A maple leaf is 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 maple as a national symbol originally hailed from the province of Quebec[11] where the sugar maple is significant, today's arboreal emblem of Canada rather refers to the species as a whole.[12] The design on the flag is an eleven-point stylization modeled after a sugar maple leaf (which normally bears 23 points).[13]
It is also in the name of Canadian ice hockey club 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".[14]
The maple is also a symbol of Hiroshima, ubiquitous in the local meibutsu.
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Maple syrup
The Sugar maple (A. saccharum) is tapped for sap, which is then boiled to produce maple syrup or made into maple sugar or maple taffy. It takes about 40 litres (42 US qt) of sugar maple sap to make 1 litre (1.1 US qt) of syrup. While any Acer species may be tapped for syrup, many do not have sufficient quantities of sugar to be commercially useful.
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Maple
| Maple | |
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| Acer pseudoplatanus (sycamore maple) foliage | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Sapindaceae |
| Subfamily: | Hippocastanoideae |
| Genus: | Acer L. |
| Species | |
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See either |
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| Distribution | |
Acer /?e?s?r/ is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple. The genus is placed in the Sapindaceae family.[1] There are approximately 128 species, most of which are native to Asia,[2] with a number also appearing in Europe, northern Africa, and North America. Only one species, Acer laurinum, extends to the Southern Hemisphere.[3] The type species of the genus is the sycamore maple, Acer pseudoplatanus, the most common maple species in Europe.[4]
