Maple syrup is asyrup usually made from thexylemsap ofsugar maple,red maple orblack maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in the spring. Trees can be tapped by boring holes into their trunks and collecting the sap. This is processed by heating to evaporate some of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup. Maple syrup was first collected and used by the Indigenous people of North America; the practice was adopted by European settlers.Quebec, Canada, is by far the largest producer, making about three-quarters of the world's output. The syrup is graded based on its density and translucency. Maple syrup is often eaten as an accompaniment to food, as an ingredient inbaking and as asweetener and flavouring agent. Maple syrup and the sugar maple tree are symbols of Canada and several US states, in particular Vermont. (Full article...)
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 | Trillium erectum, the red trillium, is a species offlowering plant in the familyMelanthiaceae. It is a springephemeral plant whose life-cycle is synchronized with that of the forests in which it lives. It is native to the eastern United States and eastern Canada from northernGeorgia toQuebec andNew Brunswick. Like all trilliums, it has awhorl of threebracts (leaves) and a singletrimerous flower with threesepals, threepetals, two whorls of threestamens each, and threecarpels (fused into a singleovary with threestigmas). It is aperennial plant that persists by means of an undergroundrhizome.Trillium erectum hascarrion-scented flowers that produce fetid or putrid odors purported to attract carrion fly and beetle pollinators. ThisT. erectum flower was photographed inStephen's Gulch Conservation Area inOntario, Canada. Photograph credit:The Cosmonaut Recently featured: |
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