Skimmia reevesiana

Most people probably see the name Skimmia and think of Skimmia japonica, the more popular landscape shrub in this genus.  It's certainly the plant I thought I was encountering at Longwood Gardens on Monday. 

 

Instead, the tag handily tells me this is Reeve's skimmia or S. reevesiana.  This species is shorter; S. japonica can, at rare times, reach 6' high, whereas this species is always shorter than 2'.  It's also bisexual, which means that one plant will flower and fruit (S. japonica is dioecious, which means you need around at least one male for every six females).

 

Above, you can see the flower buds are set - they will bloom between March and April - and fruit from last year's blossoms. The foliage is a darkish green, though far lighter than the leaves of other broadleaf evergreens like holly or rhododendron.  

The pith of the Skimmia stem has a tangy fragrance to it, and indeed most plants in the Rutaceae family have strong scents - this is the family that includes the Citrus genus.  Which means the plant you are looking at in this post is a distant relative to oranges, lemons, limes and other citrus fruits. 

More Ilex verticillata, who can resist?

Some of you may be tiring of Ilex verticillata, but not me.  Here's a shot as we passed Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania.  Unfortunately, time didn't allow for a quick visit, but perhaps someday soon I'll get back there and take some more photos (the only photos I have are, shamefully, on film. I don't have any digital shots!).

Ilex verticillata

I was at the University of Maryland on Friday, participating in the final studio review at the Architecture School.  Approaching the building, I was reminded of how much I like Ilex verticillata or winterberry holly.  

 

One could say that it's appropriate enough that these shrubs (which look lovely when they sprawl through large spaces) are trimmed and hedged in a very architectural manner.   They are, after all, outside of the Architecture School's building.

 

I blogged about Ilex verticillata last year, when I saw one specimen growing in the High Line (come to think about it, there had to be a male there somewhere).  

I was desperate to use these this autumn when I renovated my folks' place in Virginia.  As beautiful as it is, it's sadly quite tasty to deer as well.  Instead, I opted for Aronia arbutifolia.

Cedrus deodara

Across the lawn from the katsura tree in yesterday's post, stand these regal specimens of Cedrus deodara or deodar cedar.  This is probably in my top-five list for conifers (stay posted for that entry!).  I love the deodar cedar's graceful, feathery habit.  ...There is one specimen in Central Park's Cedar Hill that I've shown to students since I've begun teaching and it never fails to take my breath away.

 

Cedrus is in the Pinaceae family and is classified as such because its leaves are long, cylindrical needles.  Other Pinaceae genera include Pinus, Tsuga, Larix, Abies and Picea.

 

Unlike pine trees, which have needles bundled together in fascicles, Cedrus species have the needles arranged in spurs.  Cedrus deodara usually has between 15 and 25 needles per spur, whereas Cedrus atlantica glauca (blue atlas cedar) has 30+ needles per spur.  

...I have to admit, I'm amused that between this post and my post on white oak, readers could think that I always have a fresh manicure.  It's definitely not the norm!

 

Cedrus, and other genera in the Pinaceae genus, have two sets of cones.  On lower branches, you find the smaller male cones, like the ones above.  These form through late summer into fall and when they are "ripe" they release pollen into the wind.  

 

In the upper reaches of the tree (I used a 40X on this zoom!) you'll find the female cones (and a few male cones as well).  The female cones receive the pollen and the take up to two years to produce seeds.  When the seeds are ready for dispersal, the scales of the cones open up and release them to the wind.  The female cones generally exist in the top of the canopy to disperse the seeds as far away as possible.   Most Pinaceae cones will only open up if the air is dry.  In rainy or humid weather the cones -- sometimes even ones that have fallen to the forest floor -- remain closed, since the wet weather will hinder seed dispersal.