Last year I noticed Japanese maples for the first time, but I don't recall noticing how red the whirlybirds can be when the leaves are so green. Sort of a Christmasy tree in April.
The distinctive fruit are called samaras or “maple keys.” These seeds, or “whirlybirds,” occur in distinctive pairs each containing one seed enclosed in a “nutlet” attached to a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue. They are shaped to spin as they fall and to carry the seeds a considerable distance on the wind. Children often call them “helicopters” due to the way that they spin as they fall. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple
Retired economics professor (“dismal scientist”). Married 40+ years to the love of my life; we have two grown daughters, both married, two granddaughters and a...
Thoam - I'm really showing my age, now! When I was a kid, we used to peel the yellow part away, which had a sticky substance inside, so we used to peel them apart and stick them on the end of our noses - we thought we were so cool!
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