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maple
maple common name for the genus Acer of the Aceraceae, a family of deciduous trees and shrubs of the Northern Hemisphere, found mainly in temperate regions and on tropical mountain slopes. Acer, the principal genus, includes the many maples and the box elder. Maples are popular as shade trees and often have brilliantly colored foliage in the fall. Several E North American species provide valuable timber, notably the sugar, hard, or rock, maple ( A. saccharum ), and the more brittle-timbered black maple ( A. nigrum ). Their strong, close-grained, easily worked hardwood is used in shipbuilding and aircraft construction, for floors, fuel, and wood pulp, and in many other industries. Bird's-eye and curly maple are decorative cuts used for cabinetmaking. In addition, these two maples are the main sources of maple sugar. A prevalent and widely distributed North American species is the swamp, or red, maple ( A. rubrum ). The box elder, or ash-leaved maple ( A. negundo ), is a smaller North American species also planted as a shade tree; its softer wood is used for woodenware, cheap furniture, and paper pulp. Several European and Japanese maples have been introduced to the United States as ornamentals. The only other genus of the family is Dipteronia, consisting of two species indigenous to China. All members of the family have characteristic winged fruits. Maple syrup is the concentrated sap obtained for commercial purposes from the sugar maple and the black maple. Sap flows intermittently for periods of up to six weeks in the spring, is caught in buckets, strained, and concentrated by boiling to a density of 11 lb (4.9 kg) per gal for syrup or evaporated further for sugar. The syrup and sugar, first prepared by Native Americans (by dropping hot rocks into the sap or by freezing out the water) became the staple sweetening used by the colonists and remained important until c.1875. As cane sugar—with a higher saccharine content and a lower manufacturing cost—gained precedence and as the maple forest stands, or "sugar bush," were depleted, maple sugar and syrup became scarcer and are now used mainly for confectionery and for flavoring, especially of tobacco. Vermont and New York are the chief producing states. Maples are classified in the division Magnoliophyta , class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Aceraceae.
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"maple." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "maple." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-maple.html "maple." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-maple.html |
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Maple
Maple, narrative poem in blank verse by Robert Frost, published in New Hampshire (1923).
Although others commonly misunderstand it as “Mabel,” Maple, the name of a New England girl, given her at birth by her dying mother, guides her life and endows her with a mysterious poetic quality. Her father is unable or unwilling to make clear the intended meaning, and Maple is able to find only partial clues, but the man she marries discerns her kinship with the spirit of the trees, and they share this secret as a motive of their love. |
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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Maple." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Maple." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-Maple.html James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Maple." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-Maple.html |
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maple
ma·ple / ˈmāpəl/ • n. a tree (genus Acer, family Aceraceae) with lobed leaves, winged fruits, and colorful autumn foliage, grown as an ornamental or for its timber or syrupy sap. Its many species include the North American sugar maple (A. saccharum), which yields the sap from which maple sugar and maple syrup are made. ∎ the flavor of maple syrup or maple sugar. |
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"maple." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "maple." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-maple.html "maple." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-maple.html |
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maple
maple Genus of deciduous trees native to temperate and cool regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. They have yellowish or greenish flowers and winged seeds. They are grown for ornament, shade or timber, depending on the species; the sugar maple is also tapped for maple syrup. A common British example is the sycamore tree. Height: 4.6–36m (15–120ft). Family Aceraceae; genus Acer.
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"maple." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "maple." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-maple.html "maple." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-maple.html |
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maple
maple In OE. mapeltrēow, mapulder maple- TREE. The simplex is first recorded XIV.
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T. F. HOAD. "maple." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "maple." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-maple.html T. F. HOAD. "maple." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-maple.html |
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maple
maple •apple, chapel, chappal, Chappell, dapple, grapple, scrapple
•scalpel
•ample, trample
•pineapple
•carpal, carpel
•example, sample
•sepal
•stemple, temple
•maple, papal, staple
•peepul, people, steeple
•tradespeople • sportspeople
•townspeople • workpeople
•cripple, fipple, nipple, ripple, stipple, tipple, triple
•dimple, pimple, simple, wimple
•Oedipal • maniple • manciple
•municipal
•principal, principle
•participle • multiple
•archetypal, disciple, typal
•prototypal
•hopple, popple, stopple, topple
•gospel
•Constantinople, copal, nopal, opal, Opel
•duple, pupal, pupil, scruple
•quadruple • septuple • sextuple
•quintuple • octuple
•couple, supple
•crumple, rumple, scrumple
•syncopal • episcopal • purple
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"maple." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "maple." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-maple.html "maple." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-maple.html |
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