Content
- Maple Profile - Worth knowing about the genus Ahorne
- Botanical system and appearance
- Ingenious propagation strategy - fruits with fun factor
- Trinket for garden and balcony - Tips on uses
- Ecologically valuable - maple is more than pretty scenery
- Maple syrup - sweet lure
- Tips
Many maple varieties turn red in autumn
Maple Profile - Worth knowing about the genus Ahorne
Without the varied maple species, the world would be a barren place. From Europe to America, from Asia to Australia, the genus of the maples enriches forests, avenues, parks and gardens. Reason enough to take a closer look at the fascinating cosmopolitan. This profile conveys a colorful round of interesting details about the maple tree.
Botanical system and appearance
For the interested home gardener hide behind sober key data, such as height or hardiness, important information about the suitability of the maple for the garden. Of course, decorative aspects to the appearance may not be missing, such as leaf shape or flowering time and important criteria for the family garden, such as potential toxins. The following profile conveys at a glance all the fundamental features of the genus:
In Europe, three native maple species and their cultivars dominate the picture. Sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), maple (Acer platanoides) and field maple (Acer campestre) have been able to survive in the local climate since the last glacial period and have a reliable frost hardiness. From Asia immigrated African maple (Acer palmatum) is still hardy enough to stage with compact growth and magnificent varieties in European gardens.
Ingenious propagation strategy - fruits with fun factor
The maple tree uses a sophisticated propagation strategy, which also increases its popularity among children. To ensure that the fruits cover the largest possible radius, they are equipped with two wings. These are at a sharp or obtuse angle from the nut fruit. This aerodynamic shape causes on the one hand a long-range transport with the wind and on the other hand a remarkable autorotation during descent, reminiscent of small helicopters.
Before the ripe fruit and wings split into two halves, they serve children as funny nasenzwicker. Just a single maple tree is enough to rejuvenate a 10,000 m² area with descendants. Resourceful home gardeners harvest the seeds to use for targeted propagation.
Trinket for garden and balcony - Tips on uses
The genus Ahorne brings us a varied blend of sumptuous species and varieties for creative garden design. An excerpt of imaginative uses has been compiled for you below:
Almost all members of the genus are suitable for cultivation to bonsai. So sycamore has the potential for impressive outdoor bonsai for bed and balcony. Cut-tolerant field maple forgives the beginner in bonsai art so many rookie mistakes. Japanese fan maple is predestined to bonsai indoors and outdoors thanks to fine branching, filigree leaves and bright leaf colors.
Ecologically valuable - maple is more than pretty scenery
Limiting the maple to its decorative function does not do justice to its significance for nature. The interesting genus makes a valuable contribution to the ecological balance in many ways:
Shrubby, waxy maple species, such as field maple, gather to form dense hedges, which carry their leaves for a long time. The use of birds, insects and small animals to brood here or to seek protection against predators and winter cold.
Maple syrup - sweet lure
Maple syrup is an integral part of the kitchen in North America and Canada. In Europe, the sugar-sweet, sticky juice is becoming increasingly popular with young and old, to enjoy it with small pancakes, muffins, ice cream or in drinks. The sweet temptation is derived from the Canadian maple, also called sugar maple. For this purpose, the trunk is drilled and collected the effluent juice.
Main supplier of maple syrup is Canada with more than 80 percent of world production. Maple trees are so important to this country that a red maple leaf adorns the national flag.
Tips
One of the most striking maple trees in Germany can be visited in Hamburg. The sycamore maple in the deer park is 200 to 220 years old and about 25 meters high. With a crown width of a whopping 36 meters, the giant more than doubles the average volume. The mighty trunk is richly branched and scored an impressive 6.39 meters at the last measurement in 2019.