Maple Maple is any of about 120 species of broadleaf trees and shrubs common in forests of the Northern Hemisphere.
Most maples grow in regions with climates that are neither very cold nor very warm.
About two-thirds of all maple species are native to China. Other species are native to other parts of Asia, Europe, North America, and northern Africa. Maples are easy to recognize because their leaves grow in pairs on opposite sides of the branch, and each leaf has several lobes. No other North American tree has opposite, lobed leaves. Nearly all maples lose their leaves in the autumn.