by Deb Pella Keen, Executive Director
Sugar Maple seeds or samaras have been flying everywhere this fall. Also affectionately known as helicopters, maple ‘copters, whirlybirds, twisters or whirligigs – you may have been wondering, why the huge flurry of activity this fall?
Heavy seed crop years, when most parent trees produce seed, are responsible for most of our healthy, genetically diverse sugar maple forests. These heavy to bumper crops or mast years occur approximately every 4 to 7 years for sugar maples. Fall 2023 years has proven to be a mast year for sugar maple, along with other forest species such as red oak and white pine.
Did you know that not all maple species produce seed that mature and fall in the fall? In addition, not all maple species produce seeds periodically.
- Silver maple – annual seed, mature in late spring
- Red maple – annual seed, mature in late spring
- Sugar maple and Black Maple – seed produced every 3-5 years, mature in the fall
Masting is an evolutionary adaptation for successful reproduction. Every seed contains the nutrients to feed a new tree seedling. This little packet is also important food for animals such as squirrels, mice, and beetles. By coordinating seed production to mast years, these seed-eating animals are unlikely able to eat all the seeds produced in a mast year, leaving the rest to germinate, sprout and grow as a seedling.
To learn more about mast years like 2023, check out the following links:
- Collecting Sugar Maple Seed (MapleLeavesForever.ca)
- Tons of Acorns – It must be a mast year (theconversation.com)
Deb Pella Keen
On behalf of the MLF Team