Some male red maple tree flowers have opened recently and their leaf buds are evident at branch tips. Apparently, depending on their inclination, red maples (Acer rubrum) can produce both male and female flowers, or just male flowers, or just female flowers.
Male flowers, as you see, have long stamens that extend beyond the petals; their tips will get covered in yellow pollen, which the wind will whisk away. In the female flower, the stigma extends past the petals, ready to catch some of that pollen. The female flower then produces the tree “fruit” in the form of double samaras or “spinners” (winged seeds that “helicopter” to the ground). (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on April 29, 2025.)