The maple family, Aceraceae, includes about
150 living species of maples and sycamores,
and possibly as many fossil species, The
species living today include both trees and
shrubs and are renowned for their often
spectacular autumn colour, One of their
most characteristic features is the seeds,
each with a single membraneous 'wing' that
causes the seed to twirl around like a mini-
helicopter as it is shed from the parent tree,
The seeds are borne in pairs, with the angle
between the pair varying from almost a
straight line to a very sharp V, according to
the species. These seeds are fairly hardy and
make easily identifiable fossils. The leaves
are usually long-stalked and distinctively
three-lobed, with each lobe toothed to a
varying degree, again depending on the
species concerned. The sugar maple is the
state tree of both New York and West
Virginia, USA. Most maples, both living and
fossilized, are from the Northern
Hemisphere, with the majority in East Asia