Maples

Canadians see the Maple leaf every time they see the Canadian flag.

Maples have simple leaves with three to nine main veins that provide channels for nutrients and maintain the leaf’s structure, much the way the ribs of an umbrella do. The leaves have pointed lobes at the end of each leaf and always spread out face-up (the side without the veins) so they receive the maximum amount of sun.

All Maples have seeds in joined pairs known technically as “samara” but commonly called “keys” that fly down from the trees using their helicopter-like blades.

The distinctive Sugar Maples of eastern Canada turn red and orange before they lose their leaves in the fall, caused by the nutrients in the leaves being drawn back into the trunk of the tree. Sugar Maples are tapped in the spring for their sweet sap, which runs when the days are mild and sunny and the nights are frosty. 40 litres, or 40 gallons, of sap must be boiled down to make one litre or one gallon of maple syrup. Canada produces over 70% of the world’s supply of Maple syrup.

You can read more about the parts of a leaf and other clues to identifying trees in the Identifying Trees section.

Silver Queen Silver Maple

(Acer saccharinum ‘Silver Queen’)

Silver Queen Silver Maple is a type, or cultivar, of the Silver Maple. A cultivar is created through breeding to build on the basic characteristics of the original species.

The leaves are sharply lobed with a green surface but are silvery-white underneath. The leaves turn yellow in the fall. Mature trees have a shaggy bark and brittle limbs. The flowers appear long before the leaves.

Scarlet Sentinel Maple

(Acer x fremanii Scarlet Sentinel)

This tree is a cross between the Red Maple and the Silver Maple, combining the colour of the Red Maple with the leaf shape and the hardy features of the Silver Maple.
It has an oval or columnar shape.

Autumn Blaze Maple

(Acer x fremanii ‘Jeffersred’ Autumn Blaze)

The Autumn Blaze Maple is a cross between the Red Maple and the Silver Maple, combining the colour of the Red Maple with the leaf shape and the hardy features of the Silver Maple.

Paperbark Maple

(Acer griseum)

Originally native to China, this small tree has toothed, compound, leaves with three to five leaflets that are bluish-green above and soft grey-green below. The cinnamon-coloured bark has thin, peeling, curling, layers that stand out in the winter landscape.

Green Mountain Sugar Maple

(Acer saccharum Green Mountain)

The Green Mountain Sugar Maple is a cultivar of the tree that dominates the deciduous forests of Quebec and Ontario. The leaves have five lobes with teeth and are yellowish-green above and paler below. The leaves turn bright yellow, red, or orange in the fall.

Norway Maple

(Acer Platanoides)

This tree is considered invasive. The Parks Department of the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake has committed to removing them.

These trees are not labelled on the Tree Walk map .