On this Wikipedia maple street biscuit company language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.

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. Others are shrubs less than 10 meters tall with a number of small trunks originating at ground level. Maples are distinguished by opposite leaf arrangement. A small number of species differ in having palmate compound, pinnate compound, pinnate veined or unlobed leaves.

Maple species, such as Acer rubrum, may be monoecious, dioecious or polygamodioecious. 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. 3D rendering of a µCT scan of a samara. 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. The genus Acer together with genus Dipteronia are either classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or else classified as members of the family Sapindaceae. Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio in the United States and Ontario, Canada.

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. 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.

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”. The maple leaf appears in the coat of arms of Sammatti, a former municipality of Uusimaa, Finland. 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.

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. Kiyohime’ as bonsai during fall abscission. This dwarf hybrid cultivar is prized for its small leaves and bright red fall colors. Maples are a popular choice for the art of bonsai. 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.