European Beech

 Yesterday afternoon I visited Longwood Gardens on my way to see my grandmother in Philadelphia (my grandmother who incidentally celebrated her 101st New Year.  She's a rock star.).  I wanted to get some shots of their holiday display (which I'll post next December when we are all a bit more enthusiastic for such content) as well as some photos of plants that are gorgeous even in the depths of winter.  (Frankly, I think almost all plants look great all year, but enough of the parentheticals.)

 

Above is a gorgeous specimen of a European beech, or Fagus sylvatica.  I posted about American beech a little over a month ago and you can now see how similar the two species are.  Both have smooth gray bark, both are perfectly symmetrical in habit when grown in an open space.  Both have long, spindle-like buds.  

The only obvious difference is in the leaf.  European beeches have smooth leaf margins that curl slightly - they resemble the tracks of a kiddie roller coaster - the leaf edge gently rolls up and down.   There are no spines or serrations, either.   European beeches are a bit more tolerant to foot traffic and conditions common in a park or residential setting and the species generally is smaller than the American counterpart (F. grandifolia can reach 80', F. sylvatica rarely surpasses 60').

The Wait for Spring Begins in Earnest

Well, the holidays have come and gone and that means two things to me. One: it's dangerously close to my birthday (ugh), and two: it's time to keep watch for spring.  We had a pretty cold December and January (so far) has been a bit warm.  Keep an eye out for spring-blooming shrubs that require short dormancy periods to be blooming a bit prematurely.  Forsythia comes to mind. 

Cryptomeria japonica

Here's a shot of a building outside the National Cathedral with Cryptomeria japonica accenting the corner of the structure.

Cryptomerias are native to Japan where the trees reach sequoia-like heights of 80 meters.  Cryptomeria japonica is the only species in its genus, making the plant monotypic.  It is also endemic to Japan (meaning that it is only found - in nature - in Japan) and extremely common there. Japan is the most diverse area for conifers -- more families (6), genera (18) and species (45) of conifers are found in Japan than anywhere else.  

 

Cryptomerias are commonly referred to as 'Japanese cedars' which is a misnomer since the plant is not a cedar (Cedrus) at all.  It isn't even a member of the cedar family (Pinaceae), but a member of the cypress (Cupressaceae) family.  The branchlets remind me of little pipe cleaners, with small compressed leaves that look similar to the juvenile awls of junipers.

The bark is quite similar to other Cupressaceae species, with a reddish, cinnamon color and vertical fibrous strips.  You can make some assumptions about the etymology of the word Cryptomeria.  Crypto- is derivative of the ancient Greek word krypto- which means hidden.  Meri- means 'part'.  Essentially the name is referring to the fact that all the reproductive parts of the plant are hidden in the seed capsules.