The shape of the maple leaf is easily recognizable. It can be seen on the Canadian flag, and indeed, there are hardly any people in Russia who cannot imagine it. Maples are very beautiful in autumn: their leaves acquire a beautiful color, they somehow smell in a special way. Children and adults collect them in beautiful yellow-orange bouquets, which, perhaps, can be called symbols of the golden autumn.
But maple leaves are not stored in this form for very long. How to prolong their life? And what else can you do with them? In fact, a lot of options. First of all, you need to choose the right leaves: they must be fairly fresh, the process of decay should not yet begin in them. Having collected enough, you can think about how to save them. The most popular way is to iron them through newspaper sheets. This will help remove excess moisture from the leaves and prevent rot. But this measure can somewhat spoil their beautiful color. Another widely known method is to put maple leaves in a book for a while, it will not hurt her if you lay blanks for the herbarium with a newspaper. But a couple of months, in order for the result to surely turn out to be good, you have to wait.
So what can you do with dried leaves? Firstly, the same bouquet that will last much longer, especially if you cover it with a special composition used by florists.
Secondly, they can be used for applications, herbaria and similar crafts. Some even make beautiful roses out of them, in a special way folding several leaves around each other. Such flowers can be coated with paint and make beautiful Christmas-tree decorations out of them, especially since handmade is very much appreciated now, especially if it is such an exclusive.
In addition to the decorative function, maple leaves can play the role of a medicine, they are quite widely used in folk recipes. So, it is believed that they have wound healing, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory properties, and
can also serve as an antiemetic, diuretic, antipyretic. There is even an opinion that maple leaf has an analgesic effect. However, it is better not to use such drugs without consulting a doctor, since only a professional can choose the right medicine for the patient.
By the way, not all maples have the same leaf shape, but there are about 160 species in this genus. The number of their shares varies, they can be round or more
elongated. But almost all peoples worship these trees in one way or another, they have a place in the famous Japanese gardens, maple leaves inspire poets and composers to create poems and songs.
In addition, it is valuable wood and wonderful honey plant. In Canada, the symbol of which he is, maple syrup has been made from it for a very long time , which is added to desserts. This is how great this tree is to humans. No matter how useful and practical the maple is, it is simply beautiful, and its leaves can long remind romantic people of the warm autumn days and the people who were nearby.