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...

Date Palm

Yesterday, I posted about Datura with some hesitation.  Not because the plant is not worthy of a post, but because it's a summer annual and here we are in the middle of February.  I try to keep this post relevant to the seasons, but this is a tough time of year to find much inspiration outdoors (though now that some of our snow has melted, I have spied some daffodil foliage!).  I'll keep looking for remarkable flora for February, but for the rest of this week, we're going to focus on palms.

Above, Phoenix dactylifera is growing in a Versailles box at Luxembourg Gardens in Paris.  Date palms are easy to spot, as they almost look like a Chrysanthemum firework that is slowly drifting back to earth.  The leaves (or fronds) are long and pinnate, with leaflets reaching up to 14".

The shots above and below are at Park Guell in Barcelona.  The texture of date palms are so fine - almost furry looking -- it's hard to miss them.  Date palms have been cultivated since at least 6000 BC and they are thought to be native to the middle east.  Though it's hard to know for sure since they are now found in any tropical or Mediterranean climate.

The plants are dioecious, which means there are males and females.  Obviously, only the females have the wonderful edible dates.  I must have had dates on the brain this week, since just yesterday I had a terrific salad -- arugula, dates, ricotta salata and walnuts.  Delicious.

 

Above, date palms in Oahu, Hawaii. As you can see the crown or head of the palm works its way up, leaving dying and dessicated leaves further down the trunk.  Often these are removed manually as part of the tree's maintenance.

Protea

A long, long time ago (well, almost three years ago) I posted some pics of hothouse flowers from a Parisian shop.  One of the shots was of Protea nerifolia, or protea. 

Here's a few thriving in the Longwood Garden conservatory:

This was in their Mediterranean collection, which is a greenhouse kept at lower temperatures than tropical stock and in a drier environment.  Mediterranean plants must be the toughest to house in a conservatory; they demand lots of sunlight and very little moisture.  And even then, this specimen looks like it's struggling a wee bit.

 

The species name, nerifolia of course refers to the leaves' similarity to the foliage on Nerium or oleander.