World's Largest Maple Leaf

Joseph Donato's giant maple leaf might not last forever, but the nine-year-old from Pickering, Ont., will probably remember it forever.

He marked Guinness World Records Day on Thursday by proudly displaying the giant specimen that he picked up on his way home from a park last month.

Without the stem, the leaf measures more than 34 by 29 centimetres, bigger than some serving platters. Joseph is trying to preserve it in a picture frame.

"It's wrinkled up. It's shrunk about a teeny weeny bit, but still really big," said the Grade 4 student, describing how the leaf has changed since he discovered it on a bike ride in mid-October.

"It's kind of lost some of its colour, but we can still tell it's a leaf."