Maple Tree
In Canada, maple trees are well known for a few reasons, but the most familiar thing is probably their leaf. The maple leaf is the bright red leaf on our flag!
Ten different species of maple tree grow in Canada. Most maple tree species like to live in shady areas, surrounded by other trees in a forest. They can be found in all kinds of soils from really wet to somewhat dry.
You can tell what kind of species a maple tree belongs to by looking at its leaves, flowers or seeds, bark, and observing colours, shape and bark texture. This can be tricky, since all of the species are part of the same family, and the leaves and seeds will sometimes look similar. The good news is there are lots of resources available online and in books to show you what to look for to tell them apart.
Slideshow with tips and advice to identify maple trees in nature: https://novascotia.ca/natr/forestry/treeid/trees_of_acadian_forest2.pdf
(slides 58-68)
Lifespan
Maple trees can range in size from 33 feet to 90 feet tall if they live long enough! Most species can live between 80 and 130 years but the sugar maple, the one that produces maple syrup, usually lives between 150 and 250 years!!
Range
Most of the maple species found in Nova Scotia also live in parts of the United States as far south as Georgia and as far west in Canada as Saskatchewan. One reason these trees – especially the sugar maple – thrive in Canada is because they become dormant in the winter. When trees are dormant, their chemical reactions slow down, a bit like humans going to sleep. An early sign of becoming dormant is dropping leaves. Trees can only be dormant when the weather gets really cold and stays that way for the whole winter. The trees ‘sleep’ best when temperatures are between -18 and 10oC.
Annual Cycle
In the summer, maple trees native to Canada are covered in green leaves. When the weather gets a little cooler in the fall, these leaves start to change colour to shades of red, orange and yellow. By the beginning of winter, all the leaves have fallen to the forest floor, as the trees get ready to become dormant. But just because the trees don’t have leaves on them doesn’t mean they aren’t doing anything! In the winter while the trees ‘sleep’, their sap gets really cold, then later in the winter between February and April it warms up enough and begins to flow, feeding the developing buds.
The cool winter temperatures also help the trees make their seeds so they can make more maple trees. When it’s time for them to make new trees, the maple tree adults drop their seeds, which spin through the air like a helicopter with two wing-shaped leaves.
Human Use:
We make maple syrup out of the sap that comes from inside the trunks of sugar maple trees, usually ones that are older than 40-50 years old. Sap is like the blood of a tree: it carries nutrients and minerals to the buds forming in the spring. Only one tap is used on each tree to avoid causing damage to the tree, so that enough sap can still reach those buds. Sap can flow in both directions, up and down, but on warm spring days that follow cold nights, the sap flows down from the branches into the trunk. This flow can last for a few hours or a few days, but it is a short season! Maple tapping is a great late winter activity for anyone and everyone who likes to be outside in Nova Scotia, and there are lots of places to go to experience it.
Did you know that humans are not the only ones who like the sweet syrup? Other animals like bears will try to get at maple sap from these trees too.
The wood of the maple tree was traditionally used for snowshoes and spears. It is now mostly used for furniture, cabinets and flooring as it is very strong and durable. At one time, baseball bats were made out of maple, but it has been replaced by ash wood as it is lighter.
–Matthew Freeman
