These seeds were trying to sprout in a planting tray. Maples manufacture an elegant device for propagating themselves--a so-called "samara" that is part seed, part wing. The wings catch the air in such a way as to rotate like a helicopter, slowing their fall and allowing the wind to carry them some distance away from the parent tree.The photo shows three stages, progressing from left to right. The seed sends out a root, then its first leaves--cotyledons--expand and turn green, then it forms its first pair of "true leaves", which have the classic maple leaf shape.
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