Sappy Sweetness & A Symbol of Strength- Maple
Hello and welcome back to another episode of Rooted, where this week we’re getting a little sappy about our favorite tree- maple.
Whether you know them for their bright fall leaves, twirly seed pods, sweet syrup, or their super useful wood, this botanical ally has helped humans across the globe for centuries, and still plays an important part across cultures today.
Maple, or acer is a member of the Sapindaciea or soapberry family, with famous relatives like lychee and horse chestnut! As you might have guessed, this family gets it’s name due to the fact that most members of this family have high amounts of saponins with soap like qualities (like making water foamy) in their fruits, leaves and roots!
Maple is probably the best known and most widespread member of this family, with a native range spreading from asia to north america. Most maples are mid-sized trees with palmate leaves, smooth bark, and distinct seeds Most of us likely call helicopters, whirlygigs, or a samara if you’re a LIAR who studied botany.
The leaves are probably the most identifiable thing about maples, with their vibrant foliage displays each autumn, these large showy leaves usually have 5 points, with a total of 3-10 veins running through them. They aren’t too picky about habitat, but do prefer somewhere with rich soil, not too much sun, and a decently long cold period, as theory seeds do need those lower temps to get started.
Of course, none of that is shocking if you grew up on the east coast of the US where sugar maples can outnumber people in some towns, which brings us to the OTHER thing maples are known and grown for- syrup.
Now normally I would save the food stuff for the end, but understanding maple syrup and how it happens is actually really important for understanding some of the folklore around it, so here we are.
Maple syrup production is actually kicking off right about now in mid jan/feb! And this is because the conditions are exactly right for tapping, which is kind of like a reverse IV? Essentially Maple Sytup is a very concentrated sugar that the tree is currently sending up to it’s branches in order to give them the food they need to start pushing buds. The tree is currently sending it’s stores sugars up through the cambium layer, and by tapping into the tree, we are able to syphon some of those sugars away to make syrup. There are a few ways to do it- either by boiling hte sap in big “sugar houses” or by essentially letting the sap freeze, pulling the ice off the top over and over again until you get a rich, sweet syrup.
Before we can move on I have to point out that technically every time you use maple syrup essentially become bunnicula, drinking the literal blood of plants.. Just something to ponder over yourt next stack of pancakes…
Now let’s sink our teeth into some folklore, shall we?
In ashinaabe folklore there is a story about when man first encountered maple or ininaatig, growing overly reliant on the generosity of the maple people, who gave their rich syrup, called zhiiwaagamizigan freely to all who laid under their protective canopy. Overtime, the people grew fat and unmotivated. The started to break their promises to be good stewards of the land, instead banking on maple to provide for them. Eventually, the other plants and animals got together, and decided that map[le should thin their syrup, and make it sparingly so that man could remember that maple’s sweetness is a gift, and one that requires effort.
In another story, it was said that people learned how to make syrup from a squirrel or after a man struck a tree with an axe on accident- either way, the idea was that it was very cold when the tree was pierced, and as the weather began to warm the sap flowed out, freezing again in the night, and leaving sweet beads of maple sugar in the morning. No matter how it came about, one thing is certain- the sweetness of maple, and their generosity, is a gift not meant to be overlooked.
Across the globe, the people of Japan were also writing their own fact and fables around maple.
Passing a baby thorough a maple’s branches was said to bring a lige of sweetness and luck.
This is interesting, since the next story I’m about to tell you isn’t quite as happy-gpo-,lucky. According to legend, a powerful witch turned yokai haunts the maples. The story goes that once there was a beautiful young woman who was well educated and well respected in her village. She was known to teach other women to read, and was often turned to as the town healer…and while most of the attention she got was positive, it did eventually get her in trouble.
See, one day she caught the eye of the emperor, who became transfixed by her beauty- to the point of obsession. After a while of not-so-secret rendezvous, the woman falls pregnant, bringing shock and scandal to the village. Eventually she is exiled to the mountains,where she strikes a deal with a demon god and is granted powers like shapeshifting so she can go disown to visit her child. For years she mostly keeps to herself, and the village people avoid the mountains knowing the powerful and angry momiji haunts those hills. However, one night a particularly powerful soldier stops by town looking for a good time. After a few drinks he starts his search for a beautiful woman, and stumbles upon a princess who just-so-happens to be momiji in disguise. Before things go too far, the soldier hears a message telling him he needs to kill momiji, so he quickly draws his sword. But he isn’t quite quick enough, and a bloody battle ensues. Eventually Momiji dies, setting the maples she once considered her home a blaze with a trail of her blood. While she dies, her spirit lives on in the brilliant fall displays the maples put on.
This isn’t the only time maple finds itself twisted up in love stories- in fact, in several european folktraditions, maple was often employers in love spells, either as syrup to add sweetness (and maybe mask the taste, or in wooden wands meant to help direct and concentrate magicx.
In medicine, maple was often called on to offer sustenance when people were very weak, and to mask some of the gnarlier flavors of traditional herbs. I have also heard of it being ued as a sort-of cough suppressant, but I didn’t see it in too many sources so take that one with a grain of salt!
While this stuff might not be crazy common in medicine, it has taken the culinary world by storm for centuries! Obviously we are all VERY aware of maple syrup, but plenty of cuisine also calls for candied maple leaves, and even just maple syrup frozen in snow to make a sort of sugary snow cone! Often leaves are added into cookies, cakes, and other sweets to add a little extra complexity and color. In fact, Miyajima island just off of hiroshima japan is famous for it’s maple leaf confections, drawing people from all over the world to sample the famous sweet.
Outside of snacks, maple is also commonly used in woodworking due to its strong wood with straight grain and pretty coloring! Honestly I was tempted to take you on another deep dive a-la grandpa trees and telephone poles from our scots pine episode, but there were SO MANY things that I had to pick a few
First and foremost, I think a lot of us picture fancy floors and furniture sets when we think of maple wood. But did you know it;s also one of the most common woods for kitchen utensils right after bamboo? On top of that, maple is also very commonly used in drum making because it gives a more even tone and clear resonance that you just can’t get with poplar.
Like a lot of things we touch on for the show, I had NO IDEA the wooden drum community had so much wisdom and strong opinions, but I think there is a full podcast JUST helping us learn about different drum materials and the qualities they bring to the sound. It was fascinating, but for sure something I’ll let you check out if you want to learn more!
Of course, we kind of can’t talk about maples without talking about climate change. Like I mentioned earlier, maples need long cool periods for their seeds to stratify, and to have clear signals for when to send out new growth. The short, warmer winters with sudden cold spikes have been having a negative effect on maple populations as seedlings struggle to get started. As the earth continues to warm, we may eventually miss out on fall foliage and the joy that is maple pastries.
The good news is that there are all kinds of people out there way smarter than me actively helping to make plans to stop climate change AND help maples adapt to a warmer climate. While I was living in New Mexico I actually got to meet one of the professors working with botanists at OSU on their big tooth maple project who helped to develop “Mesa glow” which is a beautiful maple adapted to thrive in NM with warmer summers and shorter, less cold winters! And if you hired me to do your landscape design while I lived there, there is a VERY solid chance you have one if you requested autumn interest because they are one of my favorite trees, and a good reminder of what we can when we work together to try and help the species that have always stood to help us.
Maples have always been one of my favorite trees, Between their generosity, fanfare, and easy-to-identify leaves and seeds, I think it’s pretty easy to understand why. The next time you’re lucky enough to see one, I hope you’ll take a moment to be grateful for all the support they have given us, and to say hello! Maybe even give it a little hug or head kiss ig you feel so inclined.
That’s all I’ve got for this week, but I’ll be back with more tall tales and true facts next Wednesday. See you then!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple
https://mapleandmoon.com/blogs/news/the-magic-of-the-maple
https://www.maplelaboratory.com/culture.html
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10469071/
https://maplesyruphistory.com/2018/01/01/whats-in-a-name/
https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/main-entry/zhiiwaagamizigan-ni
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21MJnTCgMUc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVuyoDmFFGM
https://jfschmidt.com/all-trees/introductions/mesa-glow-maple/
https://bfppl.com/the-rich-history-of-maple-wood-and-its-cultural-significance/
