A sugar maple is a tree famous for producing very sweet sap that people boil down to make maple syrup. Each spring, when freezing nights alternate with warmer days, sugar maples pump sap up from their roots. Syrup makers drill small holes in the trunk, hang buckets to catch the dripping sap, then boil away most of the water. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of syrup!

Sugar maples grow throughout the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada, often living 300 to 400 years. Their leaves have five pointed lobes and turn brilliant shades of orange, red, and yellow in autumn, creating the spectacular fall colors that draw tourists to New England and other northern regions. The wood is also valuable: hard, strong, and beautiful, it's used for furniture, flooring, and musical instruments. Basketball courts are traditionally made from maple because the wood can withstand constant pounding without denting easily.

The sugar maple is one of several maple species that inspired the maple leaf on Canada's flag and is an important symbol of the country, honoring both its economic importance and natural beauty.