Gently Falling - Leaf Identification
 

Could someone identify each leaf/item in the Gently Falling stamp set for me.

The first big one is a sycamore leaf and goes with the seed with the two "wings" that's in the middle of the set (we called them "helicopters" when we were kids). The second on the top row is an oak (and goes with the acorns just along from it).

The small oval one in the middle of the bottom row looks like a birch leaf to me. The final spear shaped one is trickier - could be a willow leaf although it's a bit too serrated at the edges. Maybe a sweet chestnut?

HTH!

Actually, the one on the left is a maple (sugar maple, to be specific). The "keys" in the middle are also from the maple. The two in the middle on the top are oak (white oak, to be specific). Top right are acorns (from oaks) Bottom middle is most likely birch or aspen. I don't know the ones on the right. Too generic. I'm going to look through my field guild to see if I can figure it out.

Sorry, can't place the ones on the right. Nothing in my field guide to North American trees fits it perfectly. It could probably be used as a cherry or American Chestnut leaf.

Sorry, that's probably a trans-Atlantic issue since we use the term "sycamore" differently on the two sides of the Pond! To me, it's one of these (interestingly also designated as a "sycamore maple" here so the terms are bound to get confusing!)

Ah yes, that is also a maple (the genus is Acer, which is the maple genus).

We have sycamores here (genus Platanus).

The leaf from the stamp set could be used for a variety of maples, including the Sugar Maple, Norway Maple, and your Sycamore Maple. Any five-lobed maple, really, except for some of the fancier asian cut-leaf maples. There are other maples that are three-lobed (like the Red Maple).

It could also work for an actual Sycamore, although Sycamore leaves tend to be a lot broader than maple leaves, and are more often three-lobed in shape.

I'm guessing it was intended as a maple rather than a sycamore because of the maple keys that are also part of the set. True sycamores (not your sycamore maple) have round fruit.

Interestingly we would tend to use the genus name (acer) for those - I have several "acers" in my garden and people here would instantly think of a fairly small tree with brightly coloured and intricate five-lobe foliage if I said that. You might see the name "Japanese Maple" attached to them, too.

Quote:

(we called them "helicopters" when we were kids).

We did too, I don't think I've ever heard their "real" name before.
I'm wondering if that last leaf is a real leaf or if it's just an artist rendition of a leaf.

We also call them "Japanese Maple". They are a very common cultivated tree in the U.S.

I think the difference between your location and mine is that North American has several widespread native species of maple, while the UK appears to have one species. We share the same cultivated species. Maples, here, have a rich history that includes maple syrup production, New England's famous fall leaf season, and the symbol of Canada.

That could explain why the nomenclature (you call them Sycamores and Acers) is different.

I'm just guessing.

Could be. The other three are iconic - maple, oak, birch/aspen. That's why I'm frustrated that I can't figure out the fourth. Maybe the artist just wanted a long narrow shape to complement the other three. Maybe the artist was going off of a real leaf like the American Chestnut or a Chestnut Oak but left off the teeth for some reason.

Yes, sadly we don't get any of the syrupy benefits! I love maple syrup. We don't really get the spectacular colours that you'd see in New England, either. I went to Japan with my husband a few years ago at fall and we decided then that it's about light as much as it's about leaves - our Britsh leaf colours can be beautiful but we rarely get the autumn sunlight that really sets them on fire.

Is an American Chestnut what I would call a sweet chestnut, I wonder? The sort that has the edible "nuts" in a casing that has fleshy "hairs" on it and you'd roast in the winter? That drawing is serrated enough at the edges to be that kind of leaf, I think (here's Google images search for "sweet chestnut leaf")

No, but they are very similar. The American Chestnut was once a dominant part of the eastern U.S. forest ecosystems, but was nearly wiped out in the early part of the 20th century by disease. One of my college professors was working on breeding blight-resistant strains in the hopes of returning our forests to their former glory.

There are other chestnut species, all with similar leaves. Your sweet chestnut is one of them.

Our ash trees are under the same kind of threat at the moment (from Chalara fraxinea or "ash die back" which has already killed a lot of trees in mainland Europe, perhaps as much as 90% of Denmark's ash). Hope your professor had some success with the blight-resistant strains of Chestnut.

Sorry KalaKitty - this may be more tree information than you were hoping for! :D

interested, Sue where you studied? I am guessing maybe North Carolina?

Cook College, Rutgers University (undergrad)

Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (grad)

I was a TA for Dendrology at Cook. It's been 20 years, but it was fun refreshing my memory today. :D

Sue,
Small world...I worked at Rutgers for 14 years and for most of that time was at Cook. I left four years ago and moved to NC. I'd be we know lots of the same people.
mob

Interesting conversation :D
Having just picked some sweet (what I always called Spanish!) chestnut leaves in work today in case I get time to make another card for yesterday's TLC, I'm sure that that long leaf in the stamp set isn't that.
A couple of years back I read a fascinating book (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brother-Gard...ther+gardeners) which was all about the early plant "explorers" and talked about how the English landscape changed so much with the new trees that were brought in.

The ones on the bottom middle look like they could be artist renderings of a Gingko leaf.

gingko leaf:
Google Image Result for http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/medicinal_plants/images/ginkgo_leaf_full.jpg
birch leaf:
Google Image Result for http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/farmer/farmer0906/farmer090600031/5002175-birch-leaf-isolated-on-the-white.jpg