maple keys
Helicopter tree seeds
Maple keys are the winged seeds produced by maple trees, also called samaras or whirlybirds.
Each seed has a papery wing attached that causes it to spin as it falls, carrying it away from the parent tree on the wind.
Children often toss them into the air to watch them helicopter down.
The sidewalk was covered with maple keys in late spring.
- samaraWinged botanical dispersal unit
- helicopterRotary-wing aircraft
- winged seedSeed with aerodynamic appendage
- treeWoody perennial plant
- fruitsEdible seed-bearing crops
seed dispersal · achene · seeds · pericarp · winged · deciduous · fall foliage · autorotation · whirligig · spinner · backyard play · nature · leaf · ovule · flight · spinning down · syrup · habitat creation
- seed dispersaldispersal, seed dispersal, burrs, samara, tumbleweeds
- propagulesseeds, seed, spores, spore, bulbs
- tree life cycleseed, seedling, sapling, mature tree, germination