Maple Morphology

IMG_4153THREESTRIPEDMAPLES480You might have seen the TWIGS post from last week that showed the two-lead-bud pattern of the Striped Maple (or Moosewood) that grows along the creeks.

Just two days later, this is what became of that tiny compressed and highly-ordered bit of biology packed inside those bud scales. The rate of expansion from the micro- to the macroscopic is impressive. Wonder what it would like like in time-lapse video?

The deeply-veined deeply-lobed finely-toothed leaves are one of my favorite spring patterns early on as the leaves emerge translucent, in shades of yellow and chartreuse.

IMG_0038stripedMaple480

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fred
fred

Fred First holds masters degrees in Vertebrate Zoology and physical therapy, and has been a biology teacher and physical therapist by profession. He moved to southwest Virginia in 1975 and to Floyd County in 1997. He maintains a daily photo-blog, broadcasts essays on the Roanoke NPR station, and contributes regular columns for the Floyd Press and Roanoke's Star Sentinel. His two non-fiction books, Slow Road Home and his recent What We Hold in Our Hands, celebrate the riches that we possess in our families and communities, our natural bounty, social capital and Appalachian cultures old and new. He has served on the Jacksonville Center Board of Directors and is newly active in the Sustain Floyd organization. He lives in northeastern Floyd County on the headwaters of the Roanoke River.

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