How to keep and use maple leaves?

The shape of the maple leaf is easily recognizable. It can be seen on the Canadian flag, and indeed, in Russia there are hardly any people who will not be able to imagine it. Very beautiful maples in autumn: their leaves acquire a beautiful color, somehow they smell in a special way. Children and adults collect them in beautiful yellow-orange bouquets, which, perhaps, can be called symbols of golden autumn.

But maple leaves are kept in this form not very long. How to prolong their life? And what else can you do with them? In fact, there are lots of options. First of all, you need to pick the right leaves: they should be quite fresh, the process of decay should not start in them. Having collected a sufficient amount, you can think about how to save them. The most popular way is ironing them through newspaper sheets. This will help remove excess moisture from the leaves and prevent rotting. But this measure can somewhat spoil their beautiful color. Another well-known method is to insert maple leaves into the book for a while, it will not hurt it if you put the blanks for the herbarium newspaper. But a couple of months, in order for the result to be a good result, you'll have to wait.

So, what can you do with dried leaves? First, the same bouquet that lasts much longer, especially if covered with a special composition that florists use. Secondly, they can be used for applications, herbariums and similar crafts. Someone even makes beautiful roses from them, folding a few leaves around each other in a special way. Such flowers can be covered with paint and make beautiful Christmas decorations of them, especially since manual work is very much appreciated, especially if it is such an exclusive.

In addition to the decorative function, maple leaves can play the role of a medicinal product, they are 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 the maple leaf has an analgesic effect. However, it is better not to use such remedies without consulting a doctor, since only a professional can correctly select a medicine for a patient.

By the way, not all maples have the same shape of leaves, but there are about 160 species in this genus. The number of their shares is different, they can be round or more Elongated. But almost all the people somehow honor these trees, 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 fine honey. In Canada, the symbol of which he is, a very long time ago he makes maple syrup, which is added to desserts. This is the great value of this tree for man. Regardless of how useful and practical the maple is, it is simply beautiful, and its leaves can long remind romantic people about the warm autumn days and the people who were near.