Whoa nelly! Wonder what the tree from whence it came looks like...? Is it of a comparable giant size? Hope that Eve Steel (what a cool name) and her mom get both the Guinness record and a large stack of cash.
Not surprising that Acer macrophyllum should hold the record. Rather more surprising is that the previous record was from Ontario, where presumably Acer saccharum. Very unlikely - the largest leaves are produced by vigorous young trees (likely in the 5 to 20 age range), not old, large trees.
Ah, yes. You get old, just can't make leaves like you used to. Sigh. Thanks for that information, Michael. Interesting! Hope that the girl will preserve the leaf somehow, and soon.
What is up with the maples of Vancouver...? And what will next be found? A leaf big enough to be ceremoniously unfurled at the start of Canucks and/or BC Lions games, while the crowd sings 'Oh Canada'? ---That would be quite nice, really. Keep looking...the Olympics are coming in 2014! Perhaps by then a giant leaf can be found for EACH member of the Canadian delegation!
It turns out the category for the biggest maple leaf is a new one. Apparently Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland is where bigleaf maple, the largest species of maple in Canada, grows wild. It has been suggested there should be separate categories for the two maples. So this is just the beginning. I'm sure the record will continue to change hands in the coming years. Source.
So how DID the category get established? Now that there are multiple entrants, I think that they ALL should begin from the beginning and go through the submission process. ---Ha! I am skeptical of the detail as to the location where the kid found the leaf---but applaud it as a nice flourish!---Why not one found near Tim Horton's resting place? And how about other leaves, other genera? Oak? Out here in Ohio I've seen some pretty hefty sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) leaves...Catalpa, too. Perhaps the Buckeye State should enter the field of combat with a area-rug-sized leaf of Aesculus glabra!
Interesting, the original record from Toronto looks to be a Norway Maple leaf. They ain't nothing . . . try e.g. this Alocasia robusta for size!
I wanted to find out what would constitute a large leaf for a bigleaf maple. According to Wikipedia's Acer macrophyllum page: Maple experts in the forum please jump in if this is incorrect. Looks like we have yet to see the really big ones.
