Vine Maple

A photo essay.

Far and away, my favorite deciduous leaves are those of the vine maple. Their life story arc conveyed through color change is notable, of course. But its textural transformation through that same period and beyond is what I find particularly fascinating.

Early on, vine maples journey from a delicate, new spring green into a vibrant, low-canopy sunlit fluorescence. Then, as summer ends and, depending on various factors, including temperature and moisture levels throughout the year, they flame out into a spectrum of hues ranging from yellow to orange to red, and occasionally even into pastels. But the inevitable fall to the ground is when the true textural story begins to unfold.

All deciduous leaves eventually break down, returning their nutrients to the earth from whence they came. But not in quite the same way that vine maples do. As they degrade, they often transform into a type of temperate rainforest rice paper. Beautifully adorning the understory and forest floor through winter, spring, and occasionally even the next summer, before completing their biological reintegration.