Maple is found in the Eastern United States, mainly in Mid-Atlantic and Lake states. A cold weather tree favoring a more northernly climate, its average height is 130 feet.

The hard maple is the state tree of Wisconsin, Vermont, New York and West Virginia. In the North, during the cold nights and warm days of late winter, the sugar maple is tapped for its sucrose-containing sap, the source of maple syrup. It may take up to 30 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Early American settlers used maple ashes to make soap and Native Americans crafted their spears from hard maple. Until the turn of the century, the heels of women's shoes were made from maple. Maple has been a favorite of American furniture makers since early Colonial days. Hard maple is the standard wood for cutting boards because it imparts no taste to food and holds up well. Maple is known for its strength as well as its very abrasion and wear-resistant surface.

It also has a fine, uniform texture. These traits make maple a great choice for hardwood flooring board. Maple hardwood flooring board is often available in a pre-stained form. This variety of hardwood is the lightest of all species of maple and is characterized by a range of light to darker shades of rich brown, often with reddish highlights. The sapwood is creamy white with a slight reddish brown tinge and the heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown. The amount of darker brown heartwood can vary significantly according to growing region.

See additional hardwood flooring types.