Every Tuesday, Todd Irvine of Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests (LEAF) will post a stop from the Toronto Tree Tours, a collaborative project of LEAF and the Toronto Public Space Committee. The Toronto Tree Tours offers walking tours in neighbourhoods across the city as well as virtual tours on its web site. The aim is to introduce Torontonians to the individual trees in their neighbourhood while telling stories of our city’s ecological and cultural history.
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Bain Co-operative Tour: Stop 9
This is a stately Norway maple (Acer platinoides) with a beautiful spreading canopy. While not native, Norway maples have been planted extensively in Toronto for the past 100 years because they have an attractive form, are fast growing and tolerate harsh urban conditions. However, Norway maples bring with them problems. They are prolific seed producers and their winged samaras, which look like little helicopter blades in the wind, can be carried great distances, sometimes coming to rest in nearby forested ravines. The seeds easily germinate, and the many trees that result grow quickly, often faster then the native plants they have invaded upon. Norway maples have extensive root systems that soak up water, and large leaves that darkly shade the ground below. As a result, the native trees and plants have trouble competing with the Norway maples for light, water and nutrients, and they often die off. This poses a serious threat to the ecological integrity of Toronto’s few remaining natural areas, prompting some experts to call for a complete ban on the planting of these trees.
Upcoming tours:
- TORONTO TREE TOURS @ NUIT BLANCHE
- September 29, 2007 | 7:00 pm
- Kensington Market
- Bendale Tree Tour (Scarborough)
- October 14, 2007 | 1:00 pm
- Birkdale Community Centre
Photo by Michael Pereira.
3 comments
Norway Maples should not be a problem too much longer at the rate they are being chopped down or coming down. They were never a good long term tree for an urban setting and a large number are simply rotting due to a lack of root space and old age.
There should also be a clarification: “prompting some experts to call for a complete ban on the planting of these trees” in urban settings. I was told by the City that they don’t give out Norway Maples anymore.
I would also add that they are great trees and not as much of a problem in a residential area as they are near natural growth such as ravines.
Our City canopy is in bad shape due to the lack of service and inspection that that was part of keeping our property taxes low for the last 15 years.
My house is about a block from the Bain Coop and we just removed a Norway Maple from our backyard. It was full of hollows, had already dropped some very large branches in our neighbour’s yard (crushing their shed in the process). The arbourist estimated that it was over a hundred years old and was probably planted when our house was built.
The tree was massive and it’s canopy provided shade to at least five different backyards. Now that it is gone the area looks naked.
While I won’t miss the massive dump of seeds every year, I will miss it’s presence. Sadly, I will likely have sold the house before its replacement (I haven’t decided what to replace it with yet) grows to anywhere near to our tree’s former stature.
Wow. This post has absolutely blown my mind. I had no idea that the trees I see everywhere and associate so much with “Canada” and the maple leaf are not even native! I remember seeing a Norway Maple in Portugal when I was visiting family and thought it must have been planted by the families of Portuguese-Canadians and musing out loud about it.
Watching the flying helicopters is one of my earliest memories, too. I also feel as though these trees are the best/easiest to climb (with care, of course).
The things we take for granted…