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A maple tree is an Angiosperm, or flowering plant. Therefore, by definition it will produce seeds. These are contained in a woody fruiting capsule with and extended papery wing.

The FRUIT of a Maple tree is what is known as a double samara, commonly called the "Helicopter Leaf". Each of the seeds is enclosed in a fibrous container which extends into an angled wing - this structure is what is botanically described as a samara. In maples two of these structures are joined at the base to make up the entire fruit. As each half breaks away the weight of the seed holding the wing vertically causes air pressure differences above and below the wing, (in the same way as an aeroplane wing works) - this makes the fruit spiral and move sideways as it falls to the ground, thus dispersing seeds further from the parent tree and helping the maples to spread.

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15y ago

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