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Think you know one of Canada’s most iconic trees, famous for its flashy fall foliage and tasty spring syrup? Here are five things you may be surprised to learn.
Canada has a bounty of maples: 10 native species, to be specific. Sugar maples often take centre stage — but the underdog Red Maple, a.k.a., Acer rubrum, flies proud this time of year throughout eastern Canada.
- Crimson Canopy: Red Maples — along with sugar maples and mountain maples — are known for their vibrant foliage. Why do some deciduous trees consistently produce brighter fall colours compared to other species? One theory is that they evolved those colours as a form of leaf photoprotection (to prevent damage from sunlight); another is that it’s a defense against insects.
- Aw, You’re Blushing: Red Maple gets its common name from its purple-red buds and flowers, and its reddish-green seeds. It’s also known as the “swamp maple”; it grows well in wet soil, and can out-compete fussier trees.
- No Fixed Gender: Unlike many other trees, which have both male and female flowers on the same tree, an individual Red Maple will often feature either all female or all male flowers. And there’s evidence that red maples can switch genders, having all male flowers one year, and all female flowers another year. In the fall, a female tree’s foliage typically changes to yellow or orange; a male tree turns orange-red or scarlet.
- True North Strong and Sweet? While the Sugar Maple is the top tree in the eyes of the syrup industry, Red Maple syrup tastes the same as syrup made from a Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum). Why the favouritism? Sugar Maple sap contains more natural sugar, and therefore requires less boiling. (Psst: Don’t get jealous, Red Maple, but the Sugar Maple is also, allegedly, the inspiration for the Canada flag design.)
- Seeds in Flight: A mature maple spreads its seeds — maple keys — through wind dispersal. The “wings” on each seed act like, well, wings, allowing the seeds (or “samara” in botany-speak) to float through the air, away from the parent tree. Red Maple keys are smaller and lighter than the seeds of other maples, so they can travel farther on the wind. Take that, Sugar Maple! Red wins this round.
Want more about native species? Read about the Warbling Vireo here.
