maple tree sprouts

I heard that you can eat the sprout/micro-green of a maple tree. Any validity to this?

ive heard this too or at least people saying they've toasted the seeds but haven't had time to do my research, but how cool would it be if they actually were! we have thousands (probably millions) of them every may and it would be great if there were uses for them. i feel bad for the little sprouted ones i have to pull, but i've seen squirrels eating the seeds right out of the little helicopters, and we eat the sap, so why not?

I just came across this site while looking for maple sprout recipes, which are sadly lacking in search results. Surprisingly, no one seems to be writing about eating the sprouts in the foraging community.

We've got a Norway maple that produces thousands of seeds every spring, once they sprout they quickly carpet the backyard. Since the young leaves are edible, and the sprouts end up in the compost heap anyway, why not just eat the sprouts?

There's no nutritional analysis available through a web search either, unless I missed something, but I would imagine like all sprouted greens, they would have higher values. I've been adding them to salads.

You can save store-bought plastic salad/herb clamshell containers for packing and storing your daily sprout harvests to keep fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days (add a piece of moist paper towel to help prevent wilting). Don't wash them before storing; rinse well just before use.

⚠️ NOTE
A similar thread mentioned the seeds, seedlings, and leaves from the box elder maple and sycamore maple contain toxins (MCPrG, HGA, HGB), best to avoid:
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/14/9/608#B36-toxins-14-00608

Another site stated the seeds of Japanese maple (A. palmatum), silver maple (A. saccharinum), mountain maple (A. spicatum) and sugar maple (A. saccharum) contain minute amounts of HGA, but didn't cite data.  If eating seeds, sprouts, seedlings, or leaves—there are no guides on how many ounces per serving (per day) would be within safe limits re these possible toxin levels. How much is too much? Is it cumulative?
More data is needed.

Welcome to Permies.

I have a norway maple and a half dozen boxelders on my property so I understand the carpeting you are talking about! The seeds are plentiful.

I found that my chickens enjoy the sprouts and vacuum them up from the yard. I might have to try competing with them? Haha