Maple trees are rolling out the red carpet.

Along the roadsides, in wetlands and growing in the woods are native red maples painting the town red. Spring seems to be finally underway, and these trees are helping to overtaking winter’s gray landscape with their ruddy color. It’s a relief for everyone craving a blush of color after a very monochrome winter.

Red is the hue of this tree’s flowers, fruits — and, eventually, its fading leaves. Currently in bloom, red maples’ blossoms foretell their eventual fruit, leaves and seeds. The flowers come before the leaves, and are worth an up-close look. Each tree can have one of three attributes: only male, only female or both parts on the same individual. Maples cover the spectrum of possibilities.

With an eye for detail, it is possible to determine whether a flower is male or female. Male flowers have five to ten long stamens that extend past their petals.  At the end of those stamens, yellow pollen can be seen seemingly reaching out to the wind to carry them to a suitable mate. They appear as a small rouge flower pouf.  Female flowers have long branching Y-shaped stigmas that also extend past the petals to catch the male’s pollen. Theirs are tighter, more compact bud-like flowers with fewer appendages.

Once fertilized, female flowers will produce fruit.

Who among us hasn’t played with maple’s double-winged indehiscent fruit?  “Indehiscent” is not indecent:  meaning simply that the fruit remains closed at maturity. This type of fruit botanically referred to as a samara.

If you are not familiar with that description, there are many more unique and delightful common names for maple fruit and enclosed seeds. More than likely, you know them as spinners, helicopters, keys, granny glasses, whirligigs, spinning jennies, propellers or maple copters, and marvel at making them fly.

Samaras are nature’s perfect transport mechanism, allowing them to flutter further afield than their mother tree. Their movement is both effective and essential, because maple trees have large canopies with shade below that isn’t conducive to new plant growth. And since not many animals consume these samaras, they must find their own way to a new locale.

The shape of a samara is truly a perfect design for flight. The wings provide balance and they tend to land upright, making it easy for them to get pushed into the soil to encourage germination. So don’t worry about stepping on these granny glasses, it will only serve their growth.

Maple trees are quite fruitful, with a single tree able to produce up to a million seeds. In addition to being tempting as flying toys, they are also edible.  Open up those double samaras to find two small seeds. These can be eaten raw, boiled or roasted, blanched, or dehydrated. Some suggest the seeds are reminiscent of edamame and can be eaten as such. Others swear by grinding them into pesto or mixing them with mashed potatoes. All recipes that seem worth a try.

Aficionados note that each tree’s seeds have their own subtle taste and, if bitter, can be blanched. I am intrigued and though haven’t tried them, will as soon as there are fresh ones to taste.

And, of course, as a maple tree, syrup is another gift this plant bestows. Yes, you can tap red maples just as you would sugar maples. While they only produce half as much syrup as sugar maples, red maples’ product is reputed to be worthy and wonderful.

You’ve got to be quick to catch maples red-handed and red-flowered as the blossoms will only last a few days to a few weeks. The tree’s leaves will soon emerge and the samaras will replace the flowers. But for much of this long-anticipated season, we can enjoy the color, taste, and even feel of this familiar tree. How sweet it is.

Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, and author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature and The Nature of Martha’s Vineyard.