Maple Seeds
Maple fruits come in the form of samaras – pairs of winged seeds that spiral to the ground, distributed some distance (as far as 330 feet) from the parent tree. Aided by the wind, they’ve been clocked at falling at a speed of three miles per hour. Some, such as Red and Silver Maple seeds, mature early and are fully ripe now. The seeds of other species of maples, including Sugar Maple, Striped Maple and Box Elder, will mature in early autumn.
All maple species native to the Northeast have edible seeds which are loaded with protein and carbohydrates. They are especially popular with evening grosbeaks, ruffed grouse, nuthatches, porcupines, foxes, flying squirrels, eastern chipmunks, white-footed mice, white-tailed deer and moose.
Humans also eat the seeds of maples, both raw as well as steamed or boiled with a little added salt and butter. Maple seeds can also be roasted, added to salads and other dishes, or dried and ground into flour. (Adirondack Almanack) (Photo: Sugar Maple samara and partially-developed seed)
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Red Maples Flowering
Red Maples (Acer rubrum) are celebrated in the fall for their vibrant foliage, but they produce equally vibrant reds and yellows in early spring when they are flowering. Most Red Maples have dense clusters of either male flowers or female flowers (dioecious). Under certain conditions, a Red Maple tree can sometimes switch from male to female, male to both male and female (hermaphroditic), and hermaphroditic to female.
The showier male, or staminate, flowers contain between four and twelve stamens, with long, slender filaments and red (young) or yellow (mature) anthers at their tips. Both red sepals and petals can be seen at the base of the stamens. A staminate Red Maple in full bloom is a blaze of gold and red. (Photo: mature staminate Red Maple flowers)
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Basic Botany: Bud, Leaf and Branch Arrangement
In winter it is common to use the pattern by which branches and buds are arranged on a deciduous tree as a first, quick clue to the tree’s identity. There are two large groups of trees, those with alternate and opposite patterns, and a third less common pattern, whorled. Trees with alternate arrangement have only a single leaf/bud/branch attached at one location (node) on a branch. Those with opposite arrangement have two leaves/buds/branches attached at a node, opposite one another on either side of the branch. When more than two leaves/buds/branches arise from a node (rare) this is called a whorled arrangement.
At this time of year, when deciduous trees are bare, you can see the arrangement of buds, branches and leaf scars (where leaves have fallen off) clearly. Relatively few trees have opposite branching – Maples, Ashes, Dogwoods, and Horse Chestnuts – while a majority have alternate branching. More characteristics are needed to narrow a tree down to species, but noting its arrangement is an easy and quick way to eliminate certain species.
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Dead Man’s Fingers
When it first appears above ground in the spring, the club or finger-shaped fruit of Dead Man’s Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) appears powdery white from the asexual spores that cover its surface. As it matures, it acquires a crusty, black surface. This is the sexual stage. The interior of the fruiting body of this fungus is white; just inside the outer surface is a blackened, dotted layer containing structures called perithecia which hold sacs of spores.
Dead Man’s Fingers, unlike most fungi, which release their spores in a few hours or days, releases its spores over months, or even years. It can have many separate fingers, sometimes fused together to resemble a hand. Look for this fungus growing on hardwood stumps and logs, particularly American beech and maples.
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Rosy Maple Moths Emerging, Mating & Laying Eggs
Rosy Maple Moths (Dryocampa rubicunda) are easy to recognize, with their pink and yellow woolly bodies, pink legs and pink antennae. Many adults are emerging from their pupal cases now, having spent the winter underground as pupae. Once metamorphosis is complete, the adult moths lose no time in finding mates and laying eggs, not stopping to even eat. These members of the family Saturniidae are most active during the first third of the night, reducing their body temperature and activity in the morning and afternoon.
Mating takes place at night on the underside of a leaf, and 24 hours later the female lays clusters of 10-30 eggs (a total of 150 – 200 eggs) on the underside of the leaves of the larvae’s host plants, most often maples and oaks. When the eggs hatch, the larvae usually remain on the same tree throughout their larval stage.
Known as Green-striped Mapleworms, the larvae initially feed together, but become independent feeders as they age. Mapleworms change color as they develop. When young, most have black heads and yellow bodies, but with age their heads turns reddish-brown and their bodies assume a shade of green.
In New England there is only one brood per summer; further south, there are multiple broods.
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Striped Maple Buds
Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum), also known as Moosewood and Moose Maple, can easily be identified summer or winter by its greenish bark bearing vertical white stripes (hence, its common name). Because the bark is so distinctive, one needn’t rely on Striped Maple’s buds for identification purposes, but they are well worth investigating, nonetheless. Their graceful shape, smooth surface (few bud scales) and pinkish-red coloration distinguish them from all others. These buds and young branches that bear them are devoured by rabbits and hares, are frequently eaten by porcupines and beavers, and provide browse for deer and moose.
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