The maple tree has many functions, including being a major source of pollen in early spring before other plants have flowered and are important for the survival of honey bees. I don’t have a lot of maple trees but there must be enough to keep my bees going in the spring.

The Sugar maple is tapped for sap to produce maple syrup, maple sugar or maple taffy. The sugar maple wood is the choice for bowling pins, pool cue shafts and butcher’s blocks.

But the bright autumn colors of the maples, from yellows, oranges and reds, might be what gets the most attention and many countries have leaf watching traditions such as Japan which is called “momijigari”. The custom of viewing the changing color of maples in Korea is called “Danpung-Nori”. Leaf peeping is an informal term, commonly used in the United States, for people who travel to view and photograph the fall foliage in areas where foliage changes colors.

Leaf Peeping