Well , this is mortifying : According to botanists , Canada ’s brand fresh polymer $ 20 bill has the wrong maple leaf on it . Instead of choosing a maple leaf derived from any one of 13 coinage native to the state , the Bank of Canada appears to have take a leaf from an invasive mintage , the Norway maple . But despite the claims from scientists , the Bank of Canada enjoin it has a perfectly good explanation .
Indeed , this would n’t be the first time the currency - bombing Norway maple has made its mode into Canadian iconography . Though the tree diagram come to North America in the late 18th century ( it was imported by a Philadelphian merchandiser who sell it to Canadian gardeners as an alien adornment ) , it has appeared in such spot as the official Son of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo , the Natural History Museums of Canada , and the FIFA under-20 World Cup of Soccer .
But as senior botanist Sean Blaneyrecently told the CBC , “ It ’s a metal money that ’s invasive in Eastern Canada and is displacing some of our aboriginal species , and it ’s in all probability not an appropriate species to be invest on our aboriginal up-to-dateness . ”
Typically , the leaf of the sugar maple is used , and is the one boast on the Canadian flag .
In its defense , the Bank of Canada says that it ’s a “ stylized blending ” of Canadian maple coinage — a variety of amalgamation of several maple species . But Blaney — and others — are not impressed with this explanation :
“ It seems a snatch like an after - the - fact explanation to me . The bottom telephone line is that , the image on the bill look exactly like a Norway maple , however it was derived , ” he said .
University of Ottawa Prof. Julian Starr , also a enquiry scientist at the Canadian Museum of Nature , specializes in plant identification and classification .
He has been consulted by the Royal Canadian Mint about the botanical truth of its coins , but he was not shown this maple leaf .
“ This could not be obnubilate with a aboriginal species of Canada , ” enunciate Starr . “ It basically looks like a Norway maple . ”
According to the CBC , there are 400 million bank building notes already in circulation , include $ 20 , $ 50 and $ 100 bill . There are plan to print another 1.2 billion more bank notes , include $ 5 and $ 10 broadside .
Image : CBC .
Science
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