Magical Maple has a flair for color and can sense everything in the forest, including changes in temperature and the direction of the wind. Magical Maple carries an artist’s paint brush and wooden sap buckets. The buckets are magically filled with paint in the fall and maple syrup in late winter or early spring. Maple magnificently alerts others of the shift in seasons by changing the color of its leaves. Magical maple is a protector for forest creatures and the source of delicious maple syrup for bears and humans.

Magical Maple’s Family: Magical Maple is a sugar maple, Acer saccharum, which is one of 132 species in the Acer genus. Acer belongs to the larger Sapindaceae family, also known as soapberry, which includes horse chestnuts and lychee to name a few. Sugar maples are large deciduous trees with colorful fall foliage that changes from green to yellow, to orange, to red and, finally, a deep burgundy before falling to the ground. Sugar maples are also referred to as rock maple, hard maple, birds-eye maple and curly maple. Magical Maple is one of the most prominent members of its family, due to its colorful fall foliage, delicious maple syrup and exceptional wood.

Growing Climate: Northern Climates

Botanical Lineage:.

Species: Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple)
Genus: Acer (Maple)
Family: Sapindaceae (Soapberry family)

Sugar maple, Acer saccharum, is native to southeastern Canada and northeastern United States. Sugar maples display exceptionally colorful leaves in fall. During the dark and freezing months of winter, they draw sap up from the depths of their roots in order to survive and recharge. In early spring, this sap flows downward through the tree to replenish the roots. If tapped, their sap can be transformed into sweet maple syrup. In early spring they produce pollen, which is an important source of food for honeybees. Come summer they are attractive shade trees. Sugar maples are one of the few species in the Acer genus considered a “climax species”, which can reach heights of 150 ft. and live to be 300 years old.

New Book Coming Soon!

Title: Magical Maple – A Sweet Adventure

Storyline: Magical Maple invites Tea Leaf and Bodhi to experience a magical year. The adventure begins in summer under the shade of a large sugar maple. The Forest Friends drink lemonade kept cold in a sap bucket filled with ice. As fall approaches, Magical Maple fills the buckets with colorful paint and paints the maple leaves yellow, orange, red and brown. When they fall to the ground, the Forest Friends jump into a pile of leaves. In Winter they bundle up with scarves and mittens. The sap bucket is filled with snowballs and they have a snowball fight. When the sap begins to flow the bucket is hung on the tree. The Friends boil the sap into syrup and enjoy it over a stack of pancakes. In spring the tree begins to bud and honey bees gather pollen. When summer arrives, they leave with jars of honey, maple syrup and magical memories.