Of course you’re familiar with the sugar maples, Wondernose, and you know what beautiful scarlet, orange, and yellow leaves they produce in the fall. But our mystery tree has the distinction of turning red two times each year, and each time it manages to become a flaming advertisement that allows no one to overlook it.
The first “advertisement” takes place very early in the spring—long before most trees grow leaves. Suddenly, in some swampy spot where our mystery tree loves to grow, its bare wintry branches will be transformed by untold numbers of little red flowers!
Yes, Wondernose, it likes swampy spots. But that is not the only place our mystery tree is found. It inhabits a lot of kinds of habitat, from low swampy soil to dry mountain slopes.
This flowering stage doesn’t last long. You must be quick to notice it. The next thing you know, those beautiful red flowers are turning into the fruits that this tree is famous for, fruits known as “keys” or “samaras.” Usually, two seeds grow together, and from each one sprouts a thin flat “wing.” The result is a fruit that resembles an airplane propeller; and, in the case of our mystery tree, the “propeller” is strongly tinged with red.
You guessed it, Wondernose. This tree must be a maple. What other tree produces a crop of propellers? Those winged fruits are very efficient. Borne on the breezes, they will be carried afar, and when they drop to fertile, moist soil, these keys will quickly take root and begin pushing up miniature trees.
And, yes, it’s also quite obvious which kind of maple we’re referring to—the red maple. In many ways it resembles our familiar sugar maple. The red, too, produces a sweet sap that can be processed into a flavorful syrup—though my opinion is that sugar maple syrup is superior in taste. Also like the sugar, the red is a good lumber tree, with excellent hard wood. And, like the sugar, the leaves of the red grow opposite each other in pairs.
Can you think of some differences between these two kinds of maples, Wondernose? Yes, indeed, the shape of the leaves is different. Those of the sugar are five-lobed, whereas the red is usually three-lobed. True as well, the sugar maple prefers ridges to swamps for its habitat.
But the color is the most flamboyant difference. In the fall, the red maple blazes with red leaves! Nor is the red reserved for the spring flowers and fall leaves. The wintertime branches are adorned with red buds, and the spring and summer branches with reddish keys and leaf stems. The red maple displays red in all four seasons!
