The Red Maple was one of the first trees to flower, as was the Silver Maple, which I didn't get a good picture of; the best Silvers are in heavily trafficked spots in the southern part of the Park, where I spend less time. Rest assured that the Silver blossoms are very much like the Red. The "silver" is on the underside of the leaf, not in the flower. Interbreeding between these Acer species is not uncommon. Others, like the Sugar Maple (above) are still blooming, though the emerging leaves mean that the flowers are past their prime. Or, rather, they have been fertilized, and are on the way to becoming the familiar winged fruits, known as keys or samaras. Those of the Red Maple (below) are already well developed, but still retain much of their namesake color. From a distance (bottom) it's hard to tell whether the tree is blooming, fruiting, or sporting Fall foliage. It seems that Red is also a color of Spring.







To the right of the Maple stands a particularly fine Sycamore.