Red maple

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Hi there! I am a red maple. How could you fail to notice me? In the fall, I am bright scarlet and in the spring, I am pink! I love to move into new environments and can adapt well to all kinds of conditions. I am not bothered by drought and I do well in wetlands too.

Here’s a little known fact for you: porcupines really love to perch in my branches and munch on my flowers.

The early settlers thought I was quite useful for firewood, furniture, and clothespins!

You have probably seen a kind of wood called bird’s eye maple, but I am not going to disclose how I form it. That’s TOP SECRET information!  It was all the rage in the 18^th century. In fact, it was common practice to paint a “faux” (that means false) bird’s eye maple pattern on doors, to impress the neighbors without paying the expense of the real thing. You can see this technique inside the Handy House.