Sunlight filters through the bright red fall leaves and whirliibird seedpods of a Japanese maple tree Acer palmatum which are still on the tree, Chappaqua, Westchester County, New York, USA. Close up view of the leaves and seed pods with copy space. The t

Sunlight filters through the bright red fall leaves and whirliibird seedpods of a Japanese maple tree Acer palmatum which are still on the tree, Chappaqua, Westchester County, New York, USA. Close up view of the leaves and seed pods with copy space. The technical term for the fruit of the maple is samara but around the US they are known as wingnuts, helicopters, whirlibirds and in the UK, spinning jennies, all in recognition of how their whirling motion as they drop from the tree lets them wind spin them far from the parent tree. October 2011.