My botanical rendering (west coast style!) of the Canada Flag and a salute to Canada hosting the Olympics Canada Flag Maple Leaf The leaf of the Vine Maple (Acer circinatum), which grows in coastal British Columbia, is depicted in this rendering of the national flag of Canada. At least one of the ten maple tree species native to Canada grows naturally in every province. The new Canadian flag with the maple leaf as the symbol of Canada, was inaugurated on February 15, 1965. VINE MAPLE (Acer circinatum) Vine Maple grows as a deciduous shrub or straggly small tree to seven metres tall, with its sprawling branches often rooting and forming new ‘colonies’. It grows at low to middle elevations in coastal British Columbia forests, generally in canopy openings, and forest edges, in moist to wet habitats. It has distinctive pale green stems and ‘maple’ leaves which turn eye-catching, brilliant reds in the autumn. It has white flowers in clusters and paired, winged fruits (‘helicopter seeds’). The dense, hard wood is flexible when fresh and was used for snowshoe frames, drum hoops and a variety of small implements, spoons, and dishes. Moira S. Greaven is a biologist with a keen interest in plants, plant ecology and habitat conservation. She is dedicated to increasing awareness about plants, and in particular, native plants of British Columbia, Canada. She hopes her Botanical ImPRESSions will invite you to ‘look closely’ and appreciate plant diversity as seen in the intricate forms and variety of colours of plants in their different life stages. "Bringing nature indoors†"Design & Decor with Nature in Mind" Moira S. Greaven Botanical ImPRESSions www.botanicalimpressions.ca RR #1, D-21 "Design & Decor with Nature in Mind" Bowen Island, B.C. V0N 1G0 Canada Tel / Fax: 604-947-9240 Email: msg@botanicalimpressions.ca "Plants have determined man's history and that will determine his future." Peter Ayres 2008
