Sugar Maple

trees · maple syrup · autumn · North America

Brilliant fall colors. Sugar maples are famous for their spectacular autumn foliage, turning vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow that make forests glow in the fall.

Maple syrup source. Sugar maples produce a sweet sap that flows in early spring, which people collect and boil down to make the delicious maple syrup we pour on pancakes.

Eastern forest home. These trees grow naturally in the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and the eastern United States, where they've been part of the landscape for thousands of years.

Strong, beautiful wood. Sugar maple wood is prized by craftspeople because it's hard and can have beautiful patterns like birds-eye or curly grain, making it perfect for furniture and instruments.

Flowering plants. Sugar maples are flowering plants in the same family as lychees and soapberries, though their flowers are small and easily overlooked compared to their leaves.