What does a maple look like in autumn: description, types, application of maple foliage

Maple is a tree of amazing beauty. Allocate about 150 species of these trees. They grow in all corners of our planet. They can be found in forests, gardens and parks. Maples are beautiful at any time of the year, but in the fall they put on a special, bright outfit.

General Maple Information

Maples belong to deciduous trees. They may look like shrubs. Their height is from 5 to 40 meters, and the main feature is large and carved foliage, striking with a variety of color shades in autumn. In spring and summer, the trees bloom. Depending on the variety of their inflorescences are:

• green
• yellow;
• red.

Against the background of large foliage, vertical inflorescences look almost imperceptible. When the fruits ripen, seeds appear in them.

Places of growth

These unpretentious trees grow in different places. The scope of their habitat is wide:

• Eurasia;
• North America;
• Sumatra island;
• Philippine Islands;
• Mediterranean coast
• Japan;
• Malaysia;
• Chinese provinces.

These trees grow well in temperate latitudes, in the middle band. They can be planted in their summer cottage and enjoy them all year round. Japanese and Chinese maples are thermophilic, but many species are adapted to winter cold and tolerate frosts well.

Maples grow in mixed forests and parks - where broad-leaved species of maple trees live. Sometimes they can be found in the "company" of conifers. Solid maple shoots are rare. If someone was lucky enough to meet a large maple tree in the fall, a person cannot take his eyes off his magnificent foliage, dressed in different colors.

What are maples

One of the brightest types of maple is red. It is a tall tree that reaches 10 to 20 meters in height. Barrel width - from 4 to 7 meters. It has a large, compact crown that grows rapidly. The bark is dark gray, with a tendency to peeling. Each leaflet has five blades. When the foliage blossoms, a bronze tint is visible on it. In the summer, it turns green, and in the fall, the look pleases with an original and beautiful decor. Above the leaves can be bright orange or purple, and from below - silver pink. The flowers are fragrant, red in color, begin to bloom earlier than the foliage. In the natural environment, red maple can be found in North America or in wetlands.

The cuneiform (or fan) maple grows slowly. This is a low shrub from 4 to 6 meters in height. Crohn round shape, wide, in the form of an umbrella. Young branches are purplish-red or green. Leaves in the form of lobes, distinguished by an elegant shape. In adult maple, they are bright red. Under natural conditions, cirrus maples grow in China, Korea, and Japan.

Manchurian view. Its height can be up to 20 m. The crown is round, located high, with openwork carved leaves. The bark on the trunk is gray, there are small cracks on it. The foliage is triple, of complex shape, in springtime orange-red, in summer acquires a densely green hue. The color of the autumn leaf of the Manchurian maple is dark red. The countries of its growth are Korea and China. Manchurian maples also grow in Russia, in the Primorsky Territory.

The green-faced species of maple looks like a tall shrub. It reaches up to 15 meters in height. The crown is wide, magnificent, in the form of a sphere. The bark is decorative; it is green in a young tree. The old maple bark acquires a gray tint. In the fall, the foliage of this tree pleases with a golden yellow color. The species grows in mixed forests of Korea, Primorsky Krai and China.

The American (ash-leaved) species is asymmetrical, grows rapidly, reaching from 10 to 15 meters in height. The crown is wide, located high, with a span of 5-10 meters. In summer, the foliage is green; in the fall, it turns yellow. The place of growth is the central part of North America.

The bearded variety is a small shrub. Height - from 4 to 10 meters, the crown is sprawling, lush. The leaf is five-lobed, with an edge, up to 10 cm in length, in the fall clothed in orange and yellow. Places of growth - North Korea, China, Primorsky Territory.

Description of the autumn maple in our latitudes

In Russia, most often you see holly maples. They are elegant, reach 30 meters in height. The trunk can be up to 1.5 m wide. The foliage is five-lobed, with sharp ends and tight veins. In autumn, the tree pleases the eye with a rich palette of purplish-amber shades. After the leaves fall to the ground, seeds begin to fall, which in spring will give life to new trees.

Flowering time

Maple trees bloom in May-month. The flowers are often yellow-green. The duration of flowering is about 10 days. There are many signs that are associated with this time. It is believed that if a birch blooms earlier than a maple, summer will be dry. Early flowering maple - a harbinger of rainy summers.

Maple tree foliage

It happens:

• plain;
• large;
• lobed;
• palmate.

It is the intricate shape of the leaves that forms the beautiful carved crown of a rounded shape. There are species with complex and ternate foliage - for example, the Manchu tree or a species discovered by Maksimovich.

Gardeners plant specimens on the plots, the foliage of which by the fall becomes purple or bright golden. There is a variety called Crimson King. This maple even in winter has a purple crown with a purple hue. The variety Crimson Sentry has a pyramidal crown shape, by autumn its leaf darkens and also turns purple-red. The appearance of Deborah is famous for the red color of foliage in the summer, and in the fall it acquires a bright yellow color with an orange tint.

There are many variegated (variegated) species. Drummond foliage retains a dark green color until late autumn.

Scope of application

It is believed that real maple syrup is only in Canada, but it is not. There is a Russian farm where trees are extracted from trees in the Leningrad Region, not far from St. Petersburg. In addition to obtaining juice, maple trees are used:

• for carving (this is a solid wood, ideal for decorative work);
• for the manufacture of elements of guitars, violins, cellos (masters have long discovered the acoustic qualities of maples);
• in apiaries to attract bees. Maple honey is tasty and healthy.

Also, craftsmen often use veneers obtained from the root. It is needed in order to apply patterns to a special type of furniture - marquetry. When cut, these natural patterns look like original drawings, each of which is one of a kind.

The healing properties of maple

In folk medicine, they use foliage and shoots of maples as a choleretic and diuretic.They are also good antiseptics. Maple juice treat scurvy, atherosclerosis of blood vessels. They strengthen the immune system and calm the nerves. A decoction of foliage helps with diseases of the liver and kidneys. Shredded maple leaf heals well wounds, abrasions and even deep cuts.

Autumn maple bouquet

It will become a decoration for any room. It is better to collect leaves in the early morning, immediately after falling off. At night, the wind cuts them off and throws them to the ground. In the morning they are not yet damaged and not trampled by passers-by, so you can collect a magnificent autumn bouquet from them.

Autumn maples are trees of amazing beauty. You can look at them endlessly, take pictures, and make beautiful bouquets of fallen leaves.