Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Maple seeds - Elizabeth Smith


Maple seeds, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.
Here in Florida, spring seems to come early. Samaras are growing on the red maples – those wonderful little pairs of seed and wing that delight the child in us! Some people call them helicopters, and some call them keys; I’m sure there are many other names in different parts of the world for this type of interesting seed dispersing device.

Amazing what can be found on the internet…I didn’t know maple seeds were edible for one!
**Disclaimer: one should ALWAYS confirm edibility and then positively identify the plant or tree before eating.  Even when sure that it is edible (speaking as one with allergies), try only a small amount and wait to see how you will react.**

Samara definition

How to eat maple seeds

NASA’s make a maple seed "helicopter" page

You can click on the image above to view it larger on my Flickr photostream.

~ Elizabeth Smith, Naples, FL, USA

5 comments:

  1. Lovely pods Elizabeth! We have a similar tree here in South Africa and, as children, we used to watch them floating down from the trees in twirling, circular little motions, pretending they were fairies.

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  2. Your pods are so delicate, I love them!

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  3. Thank you, Jane, Maree, and SKetching birds! I so enjoyed painting them!

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  4. I loved playing with these as a kid! Beautiful job, Elizabeth!

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