Talk:Maple

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Maple has had a peer review by Wikipedia editors which is now archived. It may contain ideas you can use to improve this article.

[edit] Image in the taxobox

The image in the taxobox makes very poor presentation of what maple is. I suggest to replace this image with a different one showing maple leaves. I prefer the image given here.

(I like this picture better as well)

[edit] Maple as a FA

Some of my comments:

1."Maples are trees or shrubs in the genus Acer."

• Include family also, "in the genus Acer, in the Sapindaceae or soapberry family.

2."There are approximately 125 species, most of which are native to Asia, but several species also occur in Europe, northern Africa, and North America; for a list, see List of Acer species."

• "most of which are native to Asia, with several species native also to Europe, northern Africa, and North America." This couple probably be more precisely worded by maple expert.
• I don't like this in the lead paragraph, "for a list, see List of Acer species.

3."Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or (together with the Hippocastanaceae) included in the family Sapindaceae."

• I might leave this for later, but you could put it as the second sentence, and I don't think "together with the Hippocastanaceae" should be paranthetical.

4."Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification, favour inclusion in Sapindaceae."

• "Modern" is relative, do Thorne, Cronquist, Takhtajan, and Reveal, who are also modern favour inclusion in the Sapindaceae. If so, some case must be made later on for why only the APG is mentioned.

5."The tree, most notabaly the leaf, gained popular use in the early symbols of Canada. Today, the maple leaf is featured on the Canadian flag and Canadian-related logos."

• This really doesn't seem to be lead paragraph material, the article is about the genus, not the leaf of one member of the genus as used as a symbol.

Contents [hide] 1 Morphology 2 Pests and diseases 3 Uses 3.1 Horticulture 3.2 Tourism 3.3 Commercial uses 3.4 Symbolism 4 References 5 External links

Contents

• Shouldn't the broad and general information about its ecology and distribution come before pests and diseases?

Morphology 1."Maples are mostly trees growing to 10-40 m (30-130 feet) in height."

• "usually trees"

2."Others are shrubs less than 10 m tall with a number of small trunks originating at ground level.

• "multiple small trunks"

3."Maples are distinguished by opposite leaf arrangement."

• "distinguished" from what? Do you mean that this is a characteristic of maples?

4."The leaves in most species are palmately veined and lobed, with 3-9 veins each leading to a lobe, one of which is in the middle."

• Do you mean "3-9 primary veins each leading to a separate lobe" or "3-9 veins" total, it sounds like the latter.

5."A small number of species differ in having palmate compound, pinnate compound, pinnate veined or unlobed leaves."

• "palmately or pinnately compound leaves, pinnately veined leaves, or unlobed leaves."

These are some specific comments about the text so far, but I think you need more on the geographical distribution of the genus, the center for biodiversity, and the plant's ecology. Will try to post more as I have time. There are a couple of editors knowledgable about maples specifically who should be contacted for help. KP Botany 18:57, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Cool, thanks a lot. I went ahead and removed the symbolism part of the maple from the lead. I will add some of your suggestions this week and I will try and contact the guys you suggested and make this an FA. I was also thinking last night, in my sleep, that we could try to use a photo of trying to tap the maple tree for syrup. User:Zscout370 ^{(Return Fire)} 19:20, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

The family mention was removed, because from what I saw, it was mentioned two sentences down. User:Zscout370 ^{(Return Fire)} 19:37, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] US-centrism in the article

The tourism section could do with a re-write: it focuses on North American autumn colour, mentioning other countries' traditions as an adjunct. ('Other regions have their own leaf-watching tradition as well' comes across as rather parochial/patronising). I suggest as a possible rewrite:

Tourism

Many Acer species have bright autumn foliage, and many countries have leaf-watching traditions. In Japan, the custom of viewing the changing color of maples in the autumn is called "momijigari". Nikko and Kyoto are particularly favoured destinations for this activity.

The particularly spectacular fall colors of the Red Maple (A. rubrum) are a major contributor to the seasonal landscape in southeastern Canada and in New England. Fall tourism is a boon to the economy of this region, especially in Vermont, New Hampshire and Western Massachusetts.

In the American Pacific Northwest, it is the spectacular fall colors of the Vine Maple (A. circinatum) that draw tourists and photographers.

I moved the Japanese eg to the start as the tradition is much longer-established in Japan then in North America. I haven't made any changes yet 81.152.169.19 23:26, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Looks good, why not just add it? I will. KP Botany 00:14, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

That's fine, please, add it in. User:Zscout370 ^{(Return Fire)} 22:52, 31 December 2006 (UTC) It looks good on the article. User:Zscout370 ^{(Return Fire)} 22:53, 31 December 2006 (UTC)