Origins

The fall focuses our attention on the transition from normal everyday green to transient spectacular colors that are soon gone. Having a conversation with my adult children over lunch one Sunday, I said there were some special trees that stood out and deserved some attention. Being 59 I said it might even be worth creating a column in the paper to write about these trees. My 20-something son Adam said "Dad, there are ways to do that without newspapers. They are called blogs." (with slight technical superiority in the voice).

Well, he is right. I got out my digital camera and tried to get a few shots of the evanescent trees before they faded. I was not successful in reaching some of them before it was too late, but I began to make a collection. I may write something about the ones I missed later. 

Here are the ones I did not miss. 

Tree #1 Japanese maple

Japanese Maple southeast of the intersection of Satinwood Dr. & Hickory Crest (side view)

Same red maple from the front

This was an eye-catching tree photographed on 11/16/2013. The red color has a dramatic appeal and the tree is quite large for a Japanese maple, dominating the front of this two-story house. Unfortunately the bright sky was behind the tree and this faded the image. It is the transitory nature of the fall that prevents going back for a better shot later. In a few days the tree will not look the same. Exactly one week later this tree was bare.

Tree #2 Red maple

Red maple 1 in the parking lot behind the Med on Dunlap between Madison and Jefferson

 Tree #3 Red maple

Red maple 2 in the parking lot behind the Med on Dunlap between Madison and Jefferson

These two trees were on fire in the morning sun (11/20/2013). They are not huge trees, but fiercely shining spectacles, worthy of a few moments viewing on my way to work. (more later on the twin ginkgos in the same parking lot, see post of April 19, 2014) I am afraid the red color drew me to them again. Mid November is the time for red trees. When the sun is beaming on these leaves some of that energy and vivacity transmits to the beholder. I was bouyed up walking down the rather drab first floor corridor in my building on the way to the elevators. 

Seed cluster from tree #3 above, taken April 15, 2014

Tree #4 Ginkgo

This shot was taken Friday 11/22/2013 on my way to work. It was a rather greyish day with wet streets. I parked at the Office Depot at Union and Manassas and crossed over to the Southwest Tennessee Community College. The ginkgo was in fine gold color.  Not all ginkgos change at the same time. Many were already bare and some side by side at the University of Memphis campus on Zach Curlin were full while their next door neighbors were empty. Our house has a newly planted ginkgo that we were anticipating to change to gold. There was a frost near Nov. 8. The automatic sprinkler sprayed the leaves and the water froze in icicles hanging from the leaves. The next morning the leaves were all on the ground still green. A neighbor across from Holmes Park on Hickory Crest has twin ginkgos that had the same thing happen. They are much larger trees and made a dense carpet of green leaves with some seeds from the female tree (next picture).

Tree #5 Ginkgo leaves fallen green

Green gingko leaves fallen too soon (see the seed and the tip of my wife Susan's shoe)

I am reminded of one fall morning walking in to work across the same parking lot with the red maples above. They were not there yet since this was the site of the old Gailor Memorial Hospital which was not torn down yet. In front are two venerable ginkgos on either side of the main entrance. This fall was one of those storied times when the ginkgos shed their leaves all at once after a frost. I crossed over the street into a hissing fall of yellow leaves. They were coming down steadily by the thousands. I just stood there absorbing it all. It was a magical minute or two. I hated to leave. I have not seen that again in 20 years crossing that same street. 

These two gingkos are suffering now. When the building was torn down exceptional care was taken not to hurt these trees. The trunks were wrapped in cardboard and chain-link fences were put around them to protect them. Once the building was demolished and removed and the parking lot was put in place, a landscape crew came in and put down grass around the ginkgos, but not before bulldozing the surface to smooth out the ground. The roots were badly damaged especially on the northern tree. Now the leaves are very small and they fall very early. I think they are slowly dying. 

Tree #6 Southern magnolia

The deep branching magnoliids are a prized group of ancient trees. The ents probably had magnoliid roots. They include sassafras and the southern magnolia. These trees came after the basalmost flowering plants (Amborella, waterlilies and sacred lotus), but not long after. Here we leave red and return to green and deep green in the heavy thick shiny leaves of southern magnolias. They last this way all through the winter. They are impressive solid trees. Some humans do not have patience for magnolias since they shed their leaves and other debris continuously. One of our neighbors cut one down because they did not want to clean up after it. (You should see our Lady Banks Rose) People who do not get trees trim them back and remove the lower branches so they can walk under the trees. It leaves them naked with their knobby knees showing. The pictures below celebrate a magnificent southern magnolia left to grow unassailed. The result is amazing.

Untrimmed Southern magnolia with a lower branch like a python in the air

closeup Southern magnolia

This tree is on the eastern side of River Birch near Hickory Crest. Notice the new branches growing up from the side branch. This is Memphis' answer to the banyan tree.

Trees #7 & 8 Japanese maples

Twin Japanese maples: racial harmony in Memphis

These two trees on Satinwood Dr. are nearly identical in size and shape and probably in the summer you could not tell them apart. This illustrates a gene by environment difference. One tree has the anthocyanin biosynthetic flavinoid hydroxylase needed to make the red pigment and the other one does not or it does not express it. In the summer you would never know it.(photo 11/23/2013)

Tree #9 (cluster of 5) American hornbeams

Row of American hornbeams at the northwest corner of Madison and Dunlap

The yellow tops fading to green at the bottom makes for a pleasing effect in this row of trees on the University of Tennessee Health Science Center campus. (11/20/2013). The trunks are gray and smooth with a sinewey muscled look characteristic of this tree. For a neatly planted array of about 40 of these trees see the Memphis Botanic Garden surrounding the fountain.

Tree #10 (cluster of 4) Red maples

Four red maples line the entrance to St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital off North Parkway (Willis). These young trees will become a landmark as they get large. Some careful thought went into their choosing and placement. (photo 11/20/2013)

Tree# 11 Baldcypress

Baldcypress near an artificial lake

This deciduous conifer is by a small lake on Poplar east of Kirby Parkway on the north side of the street. (11/24/2013) This baldcypress is very attractive in the late afternoon sun.

Same baldcypress showing cones

Feathery needles closeup

Tree #12 Eastern red cedar

Eastern red cedar on west side of Riverdale north of Magnolia Ridge

There are a pair of these trees on the same property. The northern tree (not shown) has powdery blue seed cones, but the southern tree does not so they may be different sexes.

Showing the trunk in the sunlight (11/24/2013)

These are berries (seed cones) from the northern tree. This image looks more like Southern red cedar than eastern red cedar according to the Audubon Guide to North American Trees, but southern red cedar is restricted to a narrow range around the gulf coast and the southern east coast, so this is probably eastern red cedar. 

Several trees were missed this fall because I did not go back right away with a camera. Maybe next year I will be ready for them. There is still time for evergreens this winter and some bare trees as well. Wait til next spring for the dogwoods and the redbuds...

Tree #13 Yoshino cherry

Time travel to March 14, 2012 in my backyard.  The Yoshino cherry is in full bloom.

Yoshino cherry taken from the roof of the garage 3/14/2012

This next shot is a different kind of tree, a bottle tree framed against the cherry.

Inspired by Melissa Bridgman's many bottle trees

The red flask is made to protect light sensitive chemical reactions from harmful rays. The amber bottle is B&B (Benedictine & Brandy). The bottle on the left is a Dead Guy Ale (back view). The blue bottle was picked up at an antique shop at Central and Cooper.


to be continued

David Nelson
(Greentrees resident, Memphis)