Edit:
Just realized the correct name for the tree is actually maple.
False friend caused mistake because its name is "Ahorn" in German.
Keeping the heading as it is, because it is funny, although it might trigger the Canadians (sorry, dudes!).
this post was submitted on 19 Apr 2026
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Acorn tree.
Damn!
Classical "false friend" type error.
The tree is named "Ahorn" in my mother tongue (German). 😆
And those 'blossom-thingies' are called ... flowers.
Does the term "flower" apply to trees, though?
Besides, the dropped stuff seemed only to be a part of the blossoms that I didn't knew the name for.
Rest of the blossom constructs stayed on the tree.
Yes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowering_plant
Flower petals.
Thanks!
So, TIL that the English term "flower" is used in a much broader sense than its supposed direct German translation "Blume".
Nobody in Germany would say a tree has flowers (Blumen), but that it has blossoms (Blüten).
And "Flowering Plants" are also named "Blütenpflanzen" ("Blossom Plants").
So saying "tree flowers" sounds really, really odd to me.
Like someone calling a jumping frog "a flying frog".
So thanks for the explanation, would never have guessed that by myself but will now use it in all my future tree-related discussions! :-)
In English, in my opinion at least, "flower" describes the inflorescence at any point in its growth cycle, while "blossom" describes the flower at its fullest development. More often though, "blossom" is used as a verb meaning to bloom or to develop.
"Blossom" essentially means "flower". It's just not used as often. At least not in American English.
I knew it from things like "cherry blossom", meaning "Kirschblüte", so have always assumed "blossom" to be used in completely the same way as "Blüte".
Same for "Blume"/"flower".
Turns out, both assumptions have been wrong.
Well since it's english and we borrow and mash everything around and together: we say that flowers and trees 'bloom' when they produce blossoms.
And as "Blume" is pronounced almost identical to "bloom" (only a tiny addon sound at the ending), we have yet another promising false-friend-candidate! :-)
"Blossom" is definitely commonly used in American English, just not nearly as frequently as "flower".
I usually say ‘blossoms’ for trees though it can sometimes imply blossoming IE new flowers in English
But your username also gives me slight vibes you might have some affiliation with the German language... ;-)
Ha well German is my second language
Maple trees do not produce flowers, but many other types of trees do.
Maple trees are angiosperms and definitely produce flowers. They may not be showy, but they're there
Interesting, thank you. I guess I should instead say, then, that I have never seen any flowers on any maple trees and I have seen tons of maple trees. But I didn't know that. I'll have to do some reading. I love plants. You could study them all day every day and die knowing so little about them.
Quite a few angiosperms have inconspicuous flowers. All grasses have flowers, but on most species you'll never see them unless you're studying them with a magnifying glass
You really can spend so much of your time learning about plants and barely ever know anything about them.
But according to Wikipedia, they do?
Wow, I'll have to look out up. None of the maples in my region do.
Perhaps they have not been through puberty yet... ;-)