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... the maple tree ...
yellow flames with occasional deep blue flashes and touches of purple
a good looking fire with masses of heat these are "hot sticks"
intense heat but rapid burning
The genus Acer are commonly known as Maple and are native to Asia but are found in Europe, parts of Africa and most famously in North America where the leaf of the Maple is part of the Canadian Flag Funnily enough it was a French botanist who named it Acer meaning “sharp” referring to the pointy leaves |
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Maples are generally deciduous but a few of the species are evergreen and they can grow to a height of 145 feet! The flowers can be red, orange, yellow or green and although quite small the overall effect of a tree in full flower can be incredibly spectacular. Some species flower in early Spring and they are a welcome source of nectar for honey bees |
Seeds from the Maple are known as “Maple Keys” and are designed to spin as they fall and can carry the seeds a great distance with the wind |
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It was the native Americans who first started to produce Maple Syrup |
Only large maple trees are used that have reached an age of at least forty years old and one tree can produce about ten gallons (40 litres) of sap each year. In early Spring just after the frosts have finished, large Maple trees have holes bored into them, the sap then drips into buckets, it's collected and then goes onto the next stage. Quite often the natives would use buckets made out of Birch bark. |
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Once all the maple sap has been collected the next stage is to boil the sap down until it becomes syrup. It takes over forty gallons (160 litres) of sap to produce one gallon (4 litres) of maple syrup if the sap is boiled over an open fire. |
Maple syrup is incredibly popular the world over and most of this is produced in Quebec. It is eaten with pancakes, waffles, crumpets and French toast ... delicious |
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In Japan and Korea the Maple trees are watched with great enthusiasm as the leaves change colour in the Autumn - it is known as leaf-watching. Many species of Acer are a very popular choice for the art of Bonsai. |
Our Maple bark is very similar to the Ash tree, with hints of silver running through the bark. The wood is dense with a creamy inner wood and occasional darker wood in the centre. |
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Maple is a tonewood which means it is perfect for making musical instruments with - especially, guitars, violins, cellos and drum kits. Another tonewood is Mahogany, which also carries sound waves. |
There are many different type of maple wood which is highly decorative. It is quite difficult to detect from the outside of the tree and it really only shows itself when the wood is cut. |
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