There is this tree growing close to the grape vines that was being choked and looking quite sad. I have been clearing the vines and keeping them off the tree and it has bounced back. I never noticed the seeds it produces before now. I don't believe it had flowers. I looked this up on the internet but the only pictures I found were from people who didn't know what the tree is. I live in the foothills of North Carolina. I appreciate any help in identifying this tree.

I'm not sure what that pretty tree it is but those dangling catkins are the flowers.

Thank you plantladylin, never heard of catkins before. Gives me more keywords to search for.

From our Learning Library, garden dictionary:

catkin n. In botany, a scaly spike of unisexual flowers that fall after flowering or fruiting, as in the willow and birch; an ament.

I'm sure one of our other members will recognize the tree in your photo and be able to give you an exact ID.

Yes these are unisexual flowers, in this case, male. The form is unusual to most people, but common for many types of trees. The definition of catkin that PlantLadyLynn cites is correct, but your example is not a catkin, as you can see it is neither scaly or spike-like. Without getting overly technical, call them pendulous male flowers. Close inspection of the tree would also reveal the female flowers that again would seem quite unusual, and also very unlike the male flowers on the same tree.

It's too early in the season to correctly identify the tree, but a good guess would be something in the maple family (Aceraceae).

Thank you @Leftwood/Rick for sharing your knowledge, it's much appreciated!

@Tewhano There are a few Maples that grow in N.C.:

Our database entry for Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
N.C. State Univ page: https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/pl...

Our database entry for Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)
N.C. State Univ. page: https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/pl...

Our database entry for Boxelder (Acer negundo)
N.C. State Univ. page: https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/pl...


For comparison, two Acer bloom photos from our database:

The seeds and leaf on my tree are identical to the Acer negundo so that is more than likely what I got. When I searched the internet and look through the database on here I see the seeds are radically different in some photos. I am guessing that one is male and the other female? Thanks everyone for the input.

Of course, those are flowers and leaves that you see on your tree, Tewhano. Neither the male or the female flowers on theses types of trees conform to what one normally thinks of as flowers, but they are. And yes, the male and female flowers do not resemble each other at all.

Thanks for the correction. Are the seeds the whirlybird types that maple trees have?

Edited: Post moved to its own thread.

Those are the winged samaras, papery tissue surrounding the seed and commonly called helicopters, spinners, etc.

Hi LCL, This thread was started by Tewhano and his plant has been identified so members may not see this page to be able to help with the ID of your plant. If you will start a separate thread at the bottom of this page: https://garden.org/forums/view... other members will see your photos and be better able to offer suggestions as to what your plant might be.

Thank you, Lin. I just did.

As kids we called them whirlybirds. My nephew posted an article comparing stuff today with that of the 80s and it had the winged samaras listed as fidget spinners.