The Senator Falls

So, those of you who are up to speed on your big tree news may already know this -- but one of the world's largest trees collapsed in flames last weekend.  It was one of those news oddities that got picked up on morning radio stations and when I heard the story, you can imagine I went straight to the interwebs to investigate more.  

'The Senator' as the tree was lovingly nicknamed, was a baldcypress growing in Longwood, Florida.  Today I was on the National Mall and snapped a few shots of The Senator's genetic cousin, Taxodium ascendens. Baldcypresses can be the East Coast's largest trees and The Senator was designated in 2006 as the largest tree (of any species) east of the Mississippi.  It was estimated to be about 3,500 years old, ranking it as the fifth oldest tree in the world.  

While this species on the mall is probably about 50-65' high, The Senator was 165' high until 1929 when a hurricane topped it.  Shortly before its demise the plant stood at about 125' - just 25' shy of the Statue of Liberty.  The diameter of the trunk measured at just over 17'.  That's probably about 5-6 times bigger than the tree in these photos.  Those dimensions are quoted in this article, though it should be noted that arson is no longer being considered as a source of the fire that ultimately felled the tree.  

Balcypresses are given their name since they are deciduous cypresses, losing their leaves in the winter, which is a rare occurrence for a gymnosperm (i.e. non flowering plant).  The habit is upright and conical.  The plants thrive in swamps and saturated conditions.  It's this tolerance to anaerobic conditions that have lead to its more frequent use as street trees (since the conditions under concrete sidewalks are similarly limited in oxygen).

Rhapis excelsa

First of all, spring is absolutely here.  Thank goodness.  First of all, last Friday, on an afternoon run by the Potomac, I saw this:

How wonderful to finally see bulbs sprout.  Then on Saturday I met my students at the USBG and spied Galanthus, Crocus, Hamamelis, Abeliaphyllum, Jasminum nudiflorum, Helleborus, Iris reticulata and a new plant that I'd never seen before, Edgeworthia (more on that later). 

But before we completely abandon the tropics for the season a final post, courtesy of my aunt: Rhapis excelsa or lady palm.  My aunt sent me the photo above and it was a sure bet she was shooting Rhapis.  The plant is native to China but was first popularized elsewhere in Japan, since the plant can handle low light levels and indoor environments.

We used Rhapis as a hedge at the Edition: Waikiki.

That's me, running quality control (smirk) on the plants we got for the hedge.  As you can see Rhapis spreads by sending up new shoots and though the plant is in the Arecaceae or palm family, many think it looks somewhat like bamboo because of this habit.  

My aunt sent this shot above, too and it demonstrates well the effects of high levels of sunlight on the plant.  If the plant gets too much light, it yellows (that's because the sun is basically overcooking the chlorophyll in the leaves, it's not because the plant has become chlorotic). Getting a deep, rich green hue is important to Rhapis growers.  In fact, a nurseryman in Waimanolo told me he fertilizes the plant with chicken droppings which works very well.  It probably can be left unsaid that the nursery itself had an unbearable stench!

 

It's quite possible the leaf in this gate detail at Park Guell is of a lady palm.  The plant became quite popular in Europe  during the Victoria era and Park Guell began construction right at the end of this period.   Rhapis is derivative of the ancient Greek work for rod and refers to the sharp shoots on which the leaves are borne.

Pittosporum tobira

Yesterday, I received a comment that Coccoloba reminded the reader of jade plant (Crassula).  They commented that the loose architecture of the branches reminded them of that houseplant.  While I can see that resemblance, they are not related.  Neither is Crassula related to Pittosporum tobira, though when my aunt texted me this photo from her Florida trip, she had the same suspicions.

I had no doubt the photo she sent was Pittosporum, or Japanese cheesewood.  Though native to Japan, the plant is salt and drought tolerant and thus very popular as an ornamental in Florida.  Left unchecked it can become a small tree though often it's used as a low, sprawling shrub or hedge.

The specimens above, growing in the Parc del Clot in Barcelona, could possibly be the smaller cultivar, 'Wheeler's Dwarf.'  A half-hearted attempt to find out why the plant is called "cheesewood" -- which I think is an awfully unappealing name -- brought no specific results.  Presumably the wood smells, or tastes like, cheese.  I'll have to check this out the next time I see it...

Pygmy Date Palm

My aunt (of the "Norwegian Maple") has been in Florida this week and has been sending me pics on her iPhone.  It's been fun to identify the plants, or if they are unfamiliar, to look them up.  I'll be posting most of them next week, wrapping up the last of these escapist, tropical themes before we move head-on into spring. 

I was delighted with the photo she sent me above, as it's a nicer pic of Phoenix roebelenii than any of my own.  The genus name should sound familiar since I blogged about its cousin, Pheonix dactylifera, just last week.   

Here's a shot of a pygmy date palm, growing in a lackluster spot in Jean Nouvel's Parc del Centre de Poublenou.  Pygmy dates, as the common name suggests, is a smaller version of the regular date palm.  It's often used in containers or in small areas.  It demands a regular supply of water but can handle both full sun and partial shade. You can eat the dates on this species, but they aren't as fleshy or sweet as the regular date palm.

 Those of you New Yorkers may remember the June we had two years ago where it rained 25 days of the month.  I had a desperate rant about it on NYPAOS and posted this photo of a rooftop bar.  At the time, I was focusing more on this band of people, happily drinking a magnum of champagne, ignoring the deluge.  I had failed to point out the Phoenix roebelenii.