Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Red maples at Freedom Park



Finally - a few minutes to sketch in this unusually hectic new year!  I headed for the boardwalk at Freedom Park and was spellbound by the sight of a bare-branched red maple in flower - the brilliant red flowers and buds seeming to glow in the late afternoon sun.  A quick ink sketch in my nature journal, and I was off to see what other discoveries lay in wait.

How odd - I next came across a red maple with lots of new leaves and no flowers.  There is nothing quite as fresh and graceful as the bright green of new leaves unfurling.  In this case, magenta, red, and a bronzy-purple are part of the red maple's palette.  I wondered at the lack of flowers and the abundance of leaves.  My past experience is that usually there is a similar cycle of bud, leaves, flowers, and seeds in the same species (although with some overlap), but I'd never noticed before that maples could be so different.  Another quick sketch and a photo reference for painting later...

Next - close to the boardwalk I spotted a red maple with tiny new leaves and graceful sprays of young samaras.  Samaras are winged seeds, in this case, two seeds joined at the tips.  These are the "helicopter" playthings of my childhood.  What a treat to see the entire life cycle of the red maple in one area at the same time!  I added a detailed study of these to my page.

As I emerged from the wetlands portion of the boardwalk, I spotted yet another red maple in bloom next to the rail.  Bees hovered and dashed and busied themselves with the tiny red flowers, packing away bright yellow pollen bundles onto their hind legs.  I slowly (and carefully) eased up for a closer view and more quick sketches.
I added watercolor washes to my ink sketches afterwards , but I can't seem to capture the deep color glow that the afternoon sun lends to nature.  My questions on the seeming disparity of flower-leaf-seed cycles sent me on a research quest. 

Since red maple is one of the commonest species in Florida and eastern North America, it wasn't easy to find the uncommon information.  Craig Huegel mentions in his book "Florida Plants for Wildlife" that some red maples seem to be dioecious, with only certain female trees producing seeds.  I'm guessing that the locations of some of these trees in the park also influenced their development: some were in deeper shade and wetter areas.

Please feel free to comment and add further to my knowledge - it's all about learning from nature around us and from each other.

9 comments:

  1. Elizabeth, I wish I could add something. I've noticed some of the trees blooming and some not but have no clue as to why. Love your sketch!

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  2. Love the bee and love the Maple paintings. Reminds me spring will come as I look out over our dreary, rainy, snowy, cold winter day. Thank you for the beautiful painting.

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  3. Interesting. Up here we have years of heavy seed production and light seed production, but they aways seem to release some form of pollen in the spring. I'm jealous that you have blooming trees now! :-) I love your painting showing all the stages of the Red Maple leaves and seeds. it's so pretty!

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  4. Can't help you there, Elizabeth, but at least you noticed the differences while you were out there, and this lovely painting is the result.

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  5. Thank you all for your kind words! I appreciate your visit and support.

    Jacqueline, spring will come in it's own time. I'm glad I could share some of our Florida treasures with you!

    You, too Kelly, sorry to flaunt our blooming trees in front of you! The other trees bloom much later. Red maples always seem to be the early birds.

    I've noticed cycles in seed production, too. I think this will be a good one for the red maples if we don't get too many more freezes.

    Laure and Kathy, since you both live in Florida, you get to enjoy them in person!

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  6. I love your sketches and watercolor washes depicting the Red Maple cycle. This page is just fantastic!

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  7. Thanks, Cindy - I couldn't believe that I happened on the complete cycle in one spot! This was one of those pages that seemed to magically create itself...I wish it happened every time. :)

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  8. Wow! Red maples blooming in January. There's hope! We are usually 2 - 3 week behind you. Our red maples usually make there appearance in early March. It will be interesting to see if I notice any activity here in mid-February.

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  9. Update: A red maple at the Shelter Cove Mall on Hilton Head island, SC has buds popping! It's in a very sheltered location. Haven't seen any others starting.

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