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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Fernando26, post: 2592551, member: 83777&quot;]<font size="6"><b>2005 Leaf on the penny is not what you thought?</b></font></p><p>[ATTACH=full]564650[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]564650[/ATTACH] Is the federal government removing the penny because it is useless currency or because the maple leaves on it are not maple leaves?</p><p><br /></p><p>As a certified arborist and one who went to horticultural college and became familiar with plant identification and plant taxonomy, I was challenged to look at the penny to see if it was a maple. To my shock and disbelief it is not. All maples are defined as having “opposite” leaves and buds. This means each leaf or bud will have a “twin” leaf or bud directly across the stem from each other. The leaves or buds arise in pairs from the same point on the stem as direct opposites.</p><p><br /></p><p>The branch with its leaves and buds on the penny is clearly “alternate” which means the leaves or buds do not connect to the stem opposite each other. The bud or leaf arises from the stem as a single leaf or bud at each stem node. Deciding whether a tree has opposite or alternate leaves is one of the first steps taken in plant taxonomy to accurately identify a tree. The stems of opposite leaf trees tend to be straight, while alternate leafed stems tend to zigzag back and forth. Even if the buds or leaves are removed from the stem, you can still tell if it is opposite or alternate by the swelling of the stem below the buds. This branch on the penny could not possibly be a maple due to its “alternate” pattern.</p><p><br /></p><p>The tree depicted on the penny is Platanus acerifolia, the London plane tree (synonym P.x hispanica). This tree is thought to be a hybrid between western plane tree (Platanus occidentalis), a native tree to eastern North America, and a European plane tree (Platanus orientalis) a tree native to the Balkans and western Asia. These trees are otherwise known as the sycamores. The hybrid species Platanus acerifolia has been widely planted as a street, boulevard, and park tree, especially in southern Ontario where pollution tolerant trees are needed. This tree is most often mistaken for a maple. In the Latin species word “acerifolia” acer is the Latin word for the maple genus and folia refers to the foliage meaning the foliage is “maple-like.”</p><p><br /></p><p>The Canadian Mint is not alone in making this mistake. I have seen the leaves of this tree used several times to represent a maple leaf in television advertisements, to brand maple leaf products, for Olympic promotions, and to stand for all things “Canadian.”</p><p><br /></p><p>One of the methods of identifying that the leaves used are London plane tree is the flatness of the leaf. Platanus comes from the Greek word for flat. Plane tree leaves are very flat compared to maples which tend to have a puffiness between the veins. As well, Plane tree leaves, while quite variable, tend to be slightly broader at the base. The leaf petiole or leaf stock on a London plane tree is short and thick and its length is roughly one half of the length of the leaf. On most maples the petiole is long and thin; its length is equal to or greater than the length of the leaf.</p><p><br /></p><p>While most arborists can distinguish London plane by its mottled bark and strong structure and form, the other way of distinguishing this tree from maple is the seed capsule. Maples have a two-winged “samara” while plane trees have a round button-like seed capsule. Plane trees are also called the button tree or buttonwood tree in some parts of North America.</p><p><br /></p><p>Instead of pulling the penny and changing everyone’s advertising, we could just change the slogan, The Maple Leaf Forever to The Sycamore Leaf Forever.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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