Acer, or maple, is a genus of more than 150 species of trees and shrubs that are widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, including throughout the European part and in the temperate latitudes of Asia. In Russia, there are dozens of species of maple species. Most of them are unpretentious, shade-tolerant, frost-resistant, like well-moistened fertile soils, but some grow on scarce soils. Most of them are deciduous shrubs and trees, several evergreen species are in Central Asia.
Description
The height of the maples reaches 40 m, depending on the species and the surrounding conditions, but plantations up to 10–15 m are more common. The trunks are usually thin, with light brown, brown or gray bark with small cracks, the crowns are dense, round and wide. The root system is powerful and developed, it can penetrate to great depths. These trees live for about 200 years, but in a favorable natural environment they can become long-livers - they can grow up to 500 years.
A distinctive feature of maples is the beautiful shape of the leaves. In most of them they are large, slate-like - consisting of several blades, pointed or carved. In addition to the usual green color, the foliage of many species and varieties - Japanese, holly maple (Royal Red, Kimson King and others) - has purple, bright red or dark pink color. Maples bloom in early spring, inflorescences are thin light yellow or greenish panicles, the fruits are twin lionfish with seeds, ripen in September.
Due to the beautiful decorative foliage, maples are suitable for landscaping: they are planted in gardens, parks, and adjoining territories in order to create cozy beautiful landscapes, shade, and clean the surrounding air of dust and pollution.
Maple wood is widely used in industry, being a practical and high-quality building material.
Types of Maples
Among the species diversity of maple, several of the most common and popular are distinguished.
Holly
This species is one of the most famous, includes several varieties, grows throughout the European part of Russia. Another name for maple: plane-tree or plane-leaved - according to the characteristic shape of the leaves (pictured).
This species includes many decorative forms that differ in the height of the trunks, the size and density of the crown, and the shade of the leaves. The acutifoliate maple is demanding on the composition of soils, prefers medium-moist, fertile, slightly acidified soils, does not tolerate sandstones and stony lands. In height, such trees reach 20-30 m, have a wide rounded crown. The bark is light gray, in young maples it is quite smooth, with age it becomes cracked. The size of the leaves is about 15–18 cm, they are located on long thin cuttings, have a five-lobed shape with pronounced notches: the middle lobes protrude far ahead, the lateral ones are slightly shorter. There are types of maple with hornbeam or ash-shaped foliage: dentate elongated leaves of small size transversely arranged on long cuttings.
In the autumn period, green maple foliage acquires bright yellow, orange, red and burgundy shades, creating a picturesque natural carnival of colors. A five-lobed maple leaf is depicted on the national flag of Canada.
Saplings grow quickly, especially in the first years after planting, their lifespan is up to 200 years. Holly maples are immune to the gassed air of cities, so they are suitable for landscaping the streets and creating beautiful landscapes. They are planted along roads, in yards, in squares, parks.
Holly maple is common throughout European territory, in Western Siberia, the temperate zone of the North American continent.
American
This tree is widely distributed in the northern and eastern regions of the United States, being the official symbol of some states. Another name for the species is sugar maple. It is from the juice of its wood that the famous maple syrup is made, and lumber is used in construction. American maple is resistant to cold climates, able to grow up to 30-40 m, has a thick dark bark and a dense crown.
White
This species is often called sycamore or false-plane. Slender trees up to 30 m in height have a hipped, thick crown. The foliage is dark green, on the back side it is much lighter - whitish, slightly bluish. Sycamore does not tolerate severe frosts; therefore, it is rare in the middle lane; it grows mainly in the Caucasus, the Carpathians, and also the southern regions of Europe.
Tatar
It is also called black-maple. More often forms shrubby forms no higher than 9 m, the crown is sprawling. The bark has a dark, almost black color, foliage with finger-shaped lobes, dark green, smooth. The Tatar maple blossoms beautifully, in spring soft-pink rather large inflorescences similar to bells are formed on the branches. Chernoklen grows quickly, lends itself well to cutting, is used as an ornamental plant. It tolerates drought well, spread in the steppe regions of the European part, in the Caucasus, in the Balkans.
Field
Large shrub, dense and tall, up to 15–20 m. The foliage is five-lobed, bright green, the bark is dark, grayish or brown, the inflorescences are small and invisible. Field maple has good adaptive properties, adapts to almost any climatic conditions, wind-resistant and shade-tolerant, calmly endures short-term drought. Grows in deciduous forests, forest-steppe zones, in urban areas.
Landing and care
Maple can be propagated by layering, seedlings or seeds. In April, seed material is planted to a depth of 5–10 cm. It is important to choose loose and nutritious soil, and avoid planting on salt marshes or highly acidified areas. Seedlings appear after 2-3 weeks.
If desired, it is possible to propagate the tree by layering: in the spring, cut the selected shoot with a knife and treat it with a special compound to stimulate growth, then delimit the place of cut with a pebble, cover it with moss and wrap it tightly with film or foil. After a year, the sprouted shoot is separated and planted separately. Watering the seedlings is often necessary: per week they consume about 15 liters of water. With sufficient humidity and the absence of severe winter frosts, young maples grow up to 1 m per year.
The main enemies of maples are mealybug, weevil, maple whitefly. Sometimes leaves and bark are affected by coral spotting and brown rot. To prevent diseases and get rid of pests, trees are treated with reagents: chlorophos, nitrafen or dimethoate. It is advisable to spray with the first onset of heat, before the buds open.
Wood and its application
Maple wood belongs to sapwood, since the central part of the trunk is almost no different from the rest of the massif. The white maple has a light cream color, in other species - from beige and pinkish to brown, with pronounced annual layers. The surface of the tree is silky, with a slight sheen. It may turn yellow over time. The core rays on the slices form a shallow mosaic pattern. The array structure is homogeneous, very strong. The most dense is the American maple: its indicator is 705 kg / m³. Sycamore and holly species are slightly inferior to it: from 570 to 650 kg / m³. The strength of wood is slightly higher than that of oak.
Fresh wood is capricious when drying: natural conditions are recommended at a temperature of no higher than 45 ° C. Rapid drying is prone to cracking.
Finished lumber is suitable for any turning and construction work: it is well processed with tools, bends, holds all types of fasteners, is impregnated with stains, coloring solutions, polished, glued.
Maple is used in the manufacture of furniture, stairs, doors, parquet, decoration materials, wooden elements of various tools, kitchen utensils, items for artistic decoration of interiors. This is a wonderful ornamental material: decorative dishes, knife handles, cases and caskets are cut from it, used for inlays.
The disadvantages of maple wood include low biostability, which is why it is poorly suited for outdoor decoration. During processing, the material requires antiseptic coating.
The operational characteristics of maple are quite high: it is not subject to warping and deformation, tolerates moisture well, and is resistant to shock loads.