SP2965 : Male flowers of Silver Maple, St Nicholas Park, Warwick
taken 6 years ago, near to Warwick, Warwickshire, England
Male flowers of Silver Maple, St Nicholas Park, Warwick
Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum) was introduced to Britain from North America in 1725. It grows fast to make a tall tree that can take its place among natives and ornamentals in parks and streets. The leaves have silvery undersides, seen when a breeze lifts them, but the flowers appear before the leaves open. The pink bits are the filaments of the stamens, looking rather soggy on a damp late-March day.
The elephant and castle is the original name for this pub and goes back at least as far as 1880 when it was a humble beerhouse. The name of Simple Simon was coined in the 1970s and was linked to the Shires pie factory that was close by. The Elephant and Castle most likely refers to the coat of arms of the City of Coventry