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Introducing the helicopter!

I’m not talking about the aeronautical, mechanical kind. I’m writing about the winged seeds that fall off the silver maple trees this time of year.

Did you know that their seed embryos are edible? String off the outer seed covering and eat the seed part. They taste a little bit like raw peanuts. They are seeds, so they are packed with energy.

They are good in salads, but I like mine as a snack while I’m walking down the road as I encounter some on the ground.

Silver maple seeds are the easiest to sprout of all tree species. Simply strip off the outer seed covering and place the seed about aa half inch deep in moist soil. It should take the tree about a week to come up. If you plant some, it will ensure that there will be “helicopter embryos” for future generations of people.

You can bet I’ll be snacking on these when I take my walk down by the river this afternoon.

Marc Gillette

Niles