Memphis Trees

Trees with unusual pods and berries

Today is Dec. 15, 2013, a time for the annual Lessons and Carols at St. John's Episcopal Church. We leave in an hour to attend this seasonal feast for the ear. One of my favorite carols "In the Bleak Midwinter" fits the mood of the early part of the day, rather overcast and in a string of cold days. Perhaps we will hear that one tonight.

Tree #19 Goldenrain tree

Outside another Episcopal church (St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral) I took this winter shot of a goldenrain tree. This tree is on the point where Poplar and Alabama meet. Why this rather

Rayner's tree: Koelreuteria paniculata (goldenrain tree)

plain tree on this winter's day? The tree is linked to Rayner Christopher. Rayner was a longtime member of St. Mary's, mother of identical twins Lydia and Aubin Christopher, extraordinary cook and purveyor of the Sunday parish hall offerings. These delectables, I am sure, were responsible for many a pound on many a parishioner, including me. Rayner died in the spring May 25, 2009, after battling esophageal cancer. Her funeral was held at St. Mary's on June 3 while this tree was in bloom. David Adams suggested calling this Rayner's tree. I will add a flowering picture of this tree when the spring comes.

The pods are called lanterns and they grow in large clusters. There are no leaves on this tree now, just the lanterns. A close up is shown below. In the spring, the tree is a mass of yellow flowers that lead to these clusters of seed pods.

Goldenraintree pods St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral Dec. 15, 2013 Poplar and Alabama

seed pods closeup

The tree is originally from China. The first one in the United States was planted by Thomas Jefferson in his gardens at Monticello around 1809. The seeds were a gift from his friend Madame de Tessé.

Update on Rayner's tree: photographed May 30, 2014 in flower.

View showing last years seed pods still on the tree, with the author's truck in the background

An individual flower spike that becomes the seed pods shown above (June 1, 2014)

The whole tree with St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral behind (June 1, 2014)

The first picture above has a part of a conifer in front of the winter version of the golden rain tree. Needles can be seen in the picture so this was a pine, possible a white pine. This winter an ice storm badly damaged this pine and it had to be cut down, such a loss. I am sorry I did not have a picture of it before it was cut. Here is the stump.

Remains of the pine at the point of Poplar and Alabama, June 1, 2014 RIP

Tree #20 Chinaberry

Another Asian tree found in Memphis is the Chinaberry, a member of the mahogany family.

Chinaberry on Manassas (east side of street about a block south of North Parkway) Dec. 15, 2013

The tree stands out in winter with its white berries. A near shot and a closeup are included.

Chinaberry fruit (poisonous)

The tree is considered invasive in Florida and Texas and is viewed as a weed. The berries are poisonous. I will try to add a springtime shot with purple flowers in bloom.

Chinaberries dropping on the pavement, May 4, 2014

New purple flowers opening with berries from last year still on the tree (May 4, 2014)

Tree #21 Crepe myrtle

A common site in Memphis gardens is the crepe myrtle. About every other house has these attractive hardy plants that thrive in the 95 degree summers. No real attention is required for these star plants. For some unclear reason the crepe myrtle has attracted the unrelenting attention of the gardener to prune them viciously to mere stumps. The shrubs look like they will surely die from the attack, but they come back stronger than ever. Winter leaves them with seed pods open on the bare branches.

Crepe myrtle in the parking lot behind Holy Spirit Catholic Church (off Hickory Crest) Dec. 15, 2013

Crepe myrtle pods

Tree #22 Sycamore

Driving around in the winter, sycamores stand out with their white bark on the upper parts of the tree. These are also trees with odd seed pods, spherical about the size of a golf ball. I would have taken a closeup but they are few and very far off the ground this time of year.

Sycamore, one of two in this yard on Candlewood east of Massey.

This home had two in the front yard with many of the leaves still on the trees.

The partner tree Dec. 15, 2013. The bleak morning turned sunny afternoon.

The sycamore leaves can be very large, almost a foot across. The carpet of leaves under these trees was thick and without much of a break (in the neighbors yard).

Sycamore leaves

Actually, such big leaves are easy to remove. It is the small willow oak leaves that are almost impossible to pick up. They resist lawnmower collection, raking, blowers and even yard vacuums. Once they are enmeshed in the grass blades the only way out is decomposition. I know this because my next door neighbor has two very big willow oaks that overhang my driveway.

Sycamores can be found in the wild in woody areas around Memphis.

White bark of a sycamore with some seed pods still attached very high up. Dec. 15, 2013

This tree is located just off the access road behind Holy Spirit Catholic Church in the Greentrees neighborhood. The lower part of the trunk retains the greenish and flaky bark.

Lower sycamore trunk

The seed pods must drop early in the year, since there were none found on top of the leaf litter below this tree.

I seem to remember a particularly fine lunch at a Napa Valley winery, I think it was Beaulieu Vineyards. The lunch was served under espaliered trees that I think were sycamores (but it was many years ago). The roof of living tree branches over our heads was very pleasant. Of course, the wine had nothing to do with that memory.

Tree #23 American holly

Memphis has many types of holly. In our yard we have at least two different types. This picture was taken across from Hutchison School at Massey and Old Orchard. The trees were covered in red berries and very fine in the afternoon sun.

Twin hollies flanking a house Dec. 15, 2013

Here is a closer view of the left tree.

Closeup of the holly berries

An appropriate tree for the day of Lessons and Carols. The Holly and the Ivy is a classic heard often this time of year. "Sweet singing in the choir."

Tree #24 Possumhaw or winterberry, (also swamp holly)

Across the street from our house there is a small tree coated in red berries.

Possumhaw or winterberry Dec. 23, 2013

The closeup of the fruit is very distinctive. This is another variety of holly Ilex decidua.

Fruit of the possumhaw Dec. 23, 2013 corner of Satinwood and Slash Pine Cove

Tree #25 East Palatka holly, cross between Ilex cassine and Ilex opaca

A third holly is found on the corner of my house. It is a little hard to identify but I think it is East Palatka Holly Ilex x attenuata, a cross between dahoon and American holly. The identifying characteristic is the single short spine at the tip of the leaves. Most hollies have spiny leaves and multiple spines, but this one is smooth-edged, with red berries about the size of a BB.

East Palatka holly Dec. 23, 2013 35 feet high

Note that the possumhaw in the earlier picture can be seen through the branches in the upper left corner.

Tree #26 Oakleaf Hydrangea

Shrub, not tree oakleaf hydrangea in front of my house on Satinwood Dr. Dec. 23, 2014

The more common hydrangea has blue flowers that start out pink and transition to blue in the summer. These oakleaf hydrangeas have white flowers that tend to become pink over the summer. It all depends on the pigment biosynthesis pathways and how long they take to accumulate products. Blue is made by hydroxylating flavinoids, one hydroxyl gives red or orange pigments, a second hydroxyl gives the blue color. Exact color depends on co-pigments and pH in the location of the pigments. Some times these are in vacuoles that are acidic as in roses, but the blue color requires an alkaline pH. These facts are why there are no natural blue roses. The rose family lacks the second hydroxylase. Genetic modifications of roses, chrysanthemums and carnations have added the second hydroxylase and produced a blue rose for the first time in history (Suntory, Moonshadow). The research ran into problems of acidic vacuoles that prevented the blue color from developing even though the missing enzyme was added. Some of these problems have been solved but the blue rose is still rather mauve and not intense blue.

I had wanted to photograph some giant oakleaf hydrangeas at the Memphis Botanic Garden (next post), but when I got there these 10-12 foot high tree-like hydrangeas had been cut down to make way for a performance stage for music in the gardens. Cranes and people were up in the canopy removing some large trees and the space where some smaller hydrangeas still are present is covered in the drifting sawdust from the chainsaws. The concerts are a needed economic support for the gardens, but some favorite plants lost that battle.

I photographed this same oakleaf hydrangea the following spring/summer. The two plants had a very strong growth period in the spring and burst with luminous white flower spikes.