Nothing in our natural environment brings more beauty and performs many varied tasks at the same time like the trees. These are the woody plants, which have a trunk that supports the branches, and a vast network of roots that support the trunk. They serve a lot of purposes like beautifying our homes, landscaping the environment, providing homes for wildlife, preventing soil erosion as well as providing us with oxygen, a byproduct of the carbon dioxide they take in from the atmosphere
You will find more than one hundred and twenty five varieties of the maple plants all around the world including Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. The trees which are deciduous, except the ones growing in Asia and the Mediterranean, grow to heights of up to forty meters as opposed to the shrubs that never grow more than ten meters.
Bees and insects benefit a lot from the maple tree because of its rich source of pollen contained in the flowers. The flowers come in shades of attractive red, orange or sometimes yellow color and is the greatest attraction for the insects. Although they can grow well in absence of direct sunlight, blooming does not occur until the veined leaves bud. The fruit, known as samaras is a marvel of nature with different seeds covered in nutlets and also having an attached wing which helps in dispersing to vast distances.
As funny as you may find it, these seeds, which mature barely six months after flowers appear, take many years to germinate. despite the long duration taken to grow, you will still find them in many gardens and cities with temperate climate especially in Norway. In regard to its beauty, some communities like the Japanese have developed a leaf-watching culture in Kyoto and Nikko.
