יומן של Plants of Eastern Canada

Acer platanoides (a.k.a. Norway maple), belongs in the family Sapindaceases, and is a species of a tree. It is also the most recent common ancestor to species including Acer pictum and Purple-blow maple. It is also very close in the phylogenetic tree to another species of maple called Cappadocian Maple.
Most of the observed species in the project possess an adaption of green leaves, the structures developed for the purpose of photosynthesis. This, however, is not energy efficient when the weather becomes unfavourable (i.e. winter), which triggers these trees/plants to undergo a process of abscission (shedding of leaves).
Acer platanoides has its unique adaptation where the flowers bear a double samara fruits with two winged seeds. Because of these-disc shaped winged seeds, as the seeds fall, they are able to be carried away by wind and cover more areas.

The species that I decided to locate on the phylogenetic tree is the American Elm (Ulmus americana). The tree is part of the genus Ulmus which includes all Elm trees. The most recent common ancestors of the species American Elm are the Wahoo tree and the European Elm.

One adaptation that all of the species that I observed have in common compared to other plants is that trees grow to extreme heights in order to be closer to sunlight which is needed for them to photosynthesize. The adaptation of height allows them to better soak up sunlight and not be covered in shade by other plants.
One adaptation that I noticed on the species Weeping Willow (salix x sepulcralis) was a thick scaly bark. This adaptation protects the tree from the elements and contains a plant hormone which can be toxic in large amounts.