Thursday, May 26, 2016

A Case of Mistaken Identity

What is this tree?



 The following is a cautionary tale. Don't let this happen to you.  When I first started caring for this property, I was asked "What kind of tree is this big shade tree?"  Rather than taking the time to take some pictures and samples and study the tree in detail, comparing it to tree ID dichotomous keys in my books at home and online; I made the capital mistake of saying the first tree name that popped into my head that roughly fit the description of what I was looking at. 

Actual Ash Trees



I said it was an Ash tree, but wasn't sure which one yet.  I've never been quite able to make up my mind which ash it was as it seemed to fit the general idea of one, but not exactly of any specific species of ash.  While trying to key out another plant that has been popping up in the yard recently, I was diligently studying this new 'weed' (as I should have done with the big shade tree) and was comparing it to samples and pictures of the tree as well as those in other yards in the neighborhood.  It occurred to me suddenly that my 'Ash' tree couldn't be of the Fraxinus genus because it didn't consistently show certain key characteristics.  Yes, it has a lot of opposite branches and frequently produces new branches in nearly matched pairs, but the leaves are actually simple (not compound) and are always produced in an alternate fashion rather than opposite.  I should have known better, since ash trees have compound leaves (that look a lot like individual leaves until you look closely at the pedicels of each leaflet for the buds - which you won't find if they are actually leaflets). 


Each leaf has buds and is produces alternately along the stem. These aren't compound leaves. You can see the frequent matched pairing of branches though which had me fooled into thinking this tree had opposite branches.



I fell for the very Ash-like trunk covered with ash-grey bark and the serrated leaves that seem to be oppositely branched a first glance without studying it closely enough.  The big kicker out of the Fraxinus genera and into the Ulmus though was the leaf bases.  They are very frequently asymmetrical with one side wider and longer than the other.  Ash leaflets have symmetrical bases. 

Note how the leaves seem to be attached crookedly to the stem. They aren't symmetrical like most leaves are.




I felt like a first rate idiot, but in my defense, in the year and half since I've known this tree, I've never seen it bloom nor produce any sort of reproductive structure.  Flowers and seeds are the very best ways to identify plants and are dead give-aways when you finally see them.  Had I seen the distinctive small-winged single seed pods (called 'samara' by botanists) of the Ulmus genera on the tree or scattered below it, I would have known right away that it was an Elm of some sort. 

If only I had seen some seeds! Then it's relatively easy. The seed labeled (e) is Elm while the one labeled (i) is and Ash seed. Can you guess which ones the rest are? A hint is that there are seeds of Fir, Birch, Pine, Sycamore, Maple and Lime Hornbeam in there.



Then, I tried to narrow down which of the many elms it is. That proved difficult as it seemed to have characteristics of several elm species.  That led me to consider that it might be some sort of hybrid, so I looked up elm hybrids and crosses.  I can't be 100% sure, but I am currently leaning toward it being a Sapporo Autumn Gold Elm Ulmus pumilia x Ulmus davidiana var. japonica.  It's a hybrid that was developed at the University of Wisconsin by Eugene Smalley from Siberian and Japanese Elms and has been recommended and planted across the U.S. since the 1980's for its resistance to Dutch Elm Disease, Verticilium Wilt and its drought and high pH tolerance. The drought and high pH tolerance is probably why the first owners of this yard planted it. 
Example of an unpruned Sapporo Autumn Gold from Wikipedia


It is never easy to admit when you are wrong, particularly when you are wrong about something in your own field, but professional integrity and my sense of moral honesty finally won out over the instinct of personal pride and I told my client of my mistake.  We are all human and we all make mistakes. 

Intelligence is what you gain by studying, wisdom is what you gain when you attempt to apply what you have studied.

P.S., I'm still trying to figure out what the other 'mystery plant' is and am doing another wise thing, asking for help from my peers (and in some cases, betters).  Perhaps you know what it is. If so, please comment to this blog post.

The leaves feel dry and papery and are not resinous nor glossy. There must be a coating of very fine 'hairs' on the surface of the leaves as they feel slightly rough when you rub them in a direction towards the leaf base.  They are essentially odorless except for the 'cut grass' smell you get when you crush the leaves.  The stem on the oldest ones (about two months old now) is turning brown and woody suggesting that they might be perennials. I see no sign of flower buds on any of the oldest plants too.

It is growing all over the place where it can get water and shade
This is a roughly two month old plant.
If you see this plant and know its identity, contact us right away.

(This photo looks a bit like a mug shot of a suspect doesn't it?)





Friday, May 20, 2016

First Bloom on Butterfly Bush Recovering From Cat-astauphic Damage










Remember the butterfly bush that we rescued from the clearance rack of 'the orange store' last year?  We carefully pruned the broken branches off it, transplanted it to this bigger pot and eventually planted it in the ground on the East side of the house.


It
recovered well and was doing great.....until the neighborhood cats decided it was a nice thing to lay on and play with that is.   So, then we put this little fence around it with a 'roof' of sticks on top to keep them out.







The cats had broken most of the new branches that had grown on it over the winter after we transplanted it and we weren't sure if it would recover from this. 

But now, it has grown a few new branches and one of them is even blooming!  This is one tough plant and is certainly a good choice for landscaping in our climate of the Mojave Desert.  It gets just a little water every day from the soaker hose that you may see in the pictures above. The hose circles around the plant just outside the dripline (or where the dripline was before the cats mangled the plant).  That seems to be all it needs once it is established and is still this size. As it gets bigger, we'll set up a bigger irrigation system for it using netafin tubing.

It is doing well now, but has really lost a lot of ground compared to where it would be by now had it not suffered cat-astrophic damage.  If you have cats, please keep them inside!  Do not let them run your neighborhood tearing up other people's stuff and turning their yards into outdoor litter boxes.  Much of the upkeep for the yard at this house is trying to clean up after all these loose cats.






First bloom on this butterfly bush since the cats mangled it earlier this spring.

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Celebrating April Showers

 Living in an arid place, like the Mojave Desert, really makes me appreciate and celebrate rain more than I ever have anywhere else.  In Eastern Oklahoma and Nebraska, most Springs (except for the droughts of course) were so rainy that it became a nuisance and I'd come to dread another rainstorm by the time Summer had finally arrived. But here, it rains so seldom that every rainstorm is exciting!

I'd like to take a break from my usual blog post style to just share some pictures I took with you right after a nice, long (for here anyway) rain shower.































I hope you enjoyed these pictures. It was fun taking them. Rain makes the air cleaner and washes off all the dust making everything seem fresh and new.