Araucaria bidwillii

Araucaria bidwillii
ar-uh-KAIR-ee-ah bid-WILL-ee-eye
Araucanos - Chilean for monkey puzzle tree
bidwillii - John Carne Bidwill (1815–1853)
Bunya Bunya
Queensland, Australia
Simple, Alternate
Evergreen, 100 ft.
Araucariaceae
T
he distinctive and ancient conifer family Araucariaceae (ar-uh-KAIR-ee-aye-see-ee) is
made up of only three genera, Agathis (21 species), Araucaria (19 species), and Wol-
lemia, with a single species: W. nobilis (Wollemi pine). Araucaria is the most commonly
cultivated genus in the family and two species are widespread in California. The bunya
bunya is a prehistoric-looking, imposing tree with regular, spiral, wide-sweeping branches
with dark green, leathery leaves. Most trees produce both small, cylindrical male cones
and enormous, pineapple-like female cones that fall apart when mature, usually while
still attached to the tree. Occasionally one of these bowling-ball-sized, ten-pound cones
will fall from a great height, leaving a large divot in the lawn where it lands. It’s best not
to stand under a bunya bunya on a windy day!
Cone scale with single
edible seed
The highest and most
lofty trees have the
most reason to dread
the thunder.
—Charles Rollin
Female cone
Gymnosperm: Conifer : 3
Ginkgo biloba
Ginkgo or Maidenhair Tree
GING-koe bye-LOE-bah
Southeastern China
gin - Chinese, silver; kyo - Chinese, apricot
Simple, Alternate
biloba - L., two-lobed
Deciduous, 40–80 ft.
Ginkgoaceae
T
he ginkgo is unique among all plants as a lone survivor
from the time of the dinosaurs. One of the world’s oldest
remaining species, its closest relatives went extinct millions
of years ago. It can be readily identified by its fan-shaped
leaves, an extract of which has been used for centuries to
improve brain function. The ginkgo is popular in temperate
cities all over the world because of its resilience to the tribulations of urban life, and for its golden fall leaf color. Most
cultivated trees are now grafted males because the overripe
fleshy seeds of female trees have a foul stench, reminiscent
of vomit and dog feces. Ginkgo may have become extinct
in the wild sometime in the past few
thousand years, only surviving in
Fleshy seeds
cultivation in China and later in
Japan, where some trees are over
one thousand years old. Some
Variation in
fall leaf color
authorities believe that remnant
wild stands still survive in the
mountains of southeastern China.
The passing of a great tree
is never reported in the
obituaries of our newspapers. This
is a shame,
for some of
them have
had unusual
lives.
—Peter Del
Tredici
8 : Gymnosperm: Ginkgo
Newly emerging leaves
and male cones
Bauhinia spp.
Orchid Trees
bauw-HINN-ee-ah
Asian Tropics
Bauhinia - Johann Bauhin (1541–1613)
and Gaspard Bauhin (1560–1624)
Simple, Alternate
Evergreen, 20–30 ft.
Fabaceae
T
he orchid tree’s dazzling flowers, white to rose pink to maroon,
are among California’s showiest. They superficially resemble
orchids, but these trees are actually in the legume family. Although
the genus has over 200 species, only three are commonly grown in
California: the purple orchid tree (Bauhinia variegata), the white orchid
Leaf
B. variegata
open fruit
tree (B. forficata), and the Hong Kong orchid tree (B. ! blakeana);
the last is completely sterile, never making seeds, and is propagated
only by grafting. Carl Linnaeus named the genus Bauhinia after two
sixteenth-century botanists, the Swiss brothers Johann and Gaspard
Bauhin, using the twin leaf lobes, a characteristic of the genus, to
symbolize their lifelong professional collaboration. Orchid trees generally don’t survive freezing temperatures—a reason they are common
in Southern California and rare in Northern California.
B. ! blakeana
B. variegata
tree in full
bloom
B. forficata
B. variegata
32 : Angiosperm: Eudicot: Fabales
Sing and
dance, make
faces and give
flower bouquets,
trying to be loved.
You ever notice
that trees do
everything to get
attention we do,
except walk?
— Alice Walker,
The Color
Purple
California’s Showiest Trees
Orchid Trees (Bauhinia spp.)
Floss Silk Trees (Ceiba speciosa)
Red Flowering Gum (Corymbia ficifolia)
Coral Trees (Erythrina spp.)
Trumpet Trees (Handroanthus spp.)
Sweetshade (Hymenosporum flavum)
Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia)
Crape Myrtles (Lagerstroemia spp.)
Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia ! soulangeana)
Flowering Cherries (Prunus spp.)
Eucalyptus spp.
yoo-kuh-LIPP-tuss
Eu - Gr., well; kalypto - Gr., covered
What peace comes to those aware of the voice
and bearing of trees! —Cedric Wright Henderson
Myrtaceae
E
ucalypts are the most widespread of all California’s
cultivated trees. Nary an urban or suburban skyline
exists in western California without the canopy of a eucalypt somewhere in the distance. They were introduced
to California from Australia in the 1850s to be grown
as horticultural oddities for the nursery trade, then later
as promising forestry trees and possible saviors during a
Coral Gum (E. torquata) flowers
forecasted timber drought. By the early 1900s, blue gum
(Eucalyptus globulus) was being extensively planted for
lumber, pilings and posts, fuel wood, medicinal products, tannin, oil, windbreaks, and
as a street and park tree. However, as the California forestry and fuel economy evolved,
and the inferior quality of young blue gum wood was discovered, most of the plantations
remained uncut, and parts of the state are now burdened with the ecological legacy of this
vast unharvested crop. In the regions where they are now conspicuous landscape features,
they are either admired as aesthetically valuable heritage trees and monarch butterfly
habitat, or demonized as America’s largest weeds.
Narrow-Leaf Peppermint (E. nicholii)
Red Iron Bark (E. sideroxylon ‘Rosea’)
blue leaves and pink flowers
52 : Angiosperm: Eudicot: Myrtales
Eucalyptus spp.
Eucalypt bark, leaves, and reproductive structures are greatly varied, and you may need
to examine each in order to identify a tree with certainty. Many species retain dead bark
year after year, giving rise to a trunk covered in a hard, weathered, outer layer, such as the
red iron bark tree (E. sideroxylon). Others lose old layers of bark annually, resulting in a
completely smooth trunk, such as that of the white iron bark (E. leucoxylon). Eucalypts have
two leaf forms: juvenile leaves are commonly covered in whitish wax, attached directly
to the stem in opposite pairs, and oriented horizontally, whereas adult leaves tend to be
stalked, attached singly, hanging vertically, and shaped like spearheads. Some species,
such as the silver mountain gum (E. pulverulenta), which is commonly used in cut flower
arrangements, indefinitely retain their juvenile leaves.
Coral Gum (E. torquata) flowers and fruits developing in series
Bud cap
White Iron Bark (E. leucoxylon)
Narrow-Leaf Peppermint (E. nicholii)
Red Gum (E. camaldulensis)
Red Iron Bark (E. sideroxylon)
Swamp Mahogany (E. robusta)
Red Flowering Gum (Corymbia ficifolia)
54 : Angiosperm: Eudicot: Myrtales
Buds and Fruits for California’s Commonly Cultivated Eucalypts
Red Gum
(Eucalyptus
camaldulensis)
Spider Gum
(Eucalyptus
conferruminata)
Swamp Mahogany
(Eucalyptus robusta)
Red Flowering Gum
(Corymbia ficifolia)
Blue Gum
(Eucalyptus globulus)
White Iron Bark
(Eucalyptus
leucoxylon)
Coral Gum
(Eucalyptus
torquata)
Lemon Scented Gum
(Corymbia citriodora)
Silver Mountain
Gum (Eucalyptus
pulverulenta)
Sugar Gum
(Eucalyptus cladocalyx)
Manna Gum
(Eucalyptus viminalis)
Cider Gum
(Eucalyptus
gunnii)
Silver Dollar
Gum (Eucalyptus
polyanthemos)
Narrow-Leaf
Peppermint
(Eucalyptus
nicholii)
Flooded Gum
(Eucalyptus rudis)
Sydney
Blue Gum
(Eucalyptus
saligna)
Argyle Apple
(Eucalyptus cinerea)
Red Iron Bark
(Eucalyptus
sideroxylon)
Angiosperm: Eudicot: Myrtales : 57
Washingtonia robusta
Mexican Fan Palm
wah-shing-TOE-nee-uh roe-BUS-tuh
Baja California and Sonora, Mexico
Washingtonia - George Washington
(1732–1799)
Palmate, Alternate
Evergreen, 100 ft.
robusta - L., stout
Arecaceae
M
exican fan palm is the most widely grown palm tree in
coastal California (and probably the entire U.S.), where
nary an ocean view lacks their characteristic silhouette accent-
ing the horizon. Old specimens have astonishing proportions,
with a graceful trunk up to one hundred feet tall while only
about two feet wide (a fifty-to-one height-to-diameter ratio).
Few other plants are so tall and thin. The height-to-diameter
ratio of the world’s tallest non-palm trees, such as the coastal
redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), rarely exceeds fifteen to one.
Accordion-like leaf
folds of the large,
fan-shaped leaves
Fruits
As the poet
said, “Only
God can make
a tree”—probably because
it’s so hard
to figure out
how to get
the bark on.
—Woody Allen
Angiosperm: Monocot: Arecales : 127