Trumpet Tree

This tree is absolutely incredible.
I called it the 'trumpet tree' by default,
but I looked it up online
and I actually found it under this name...
and the Latin name of Brugmansia candida.

Palm trees!

These are my favorite kind of palm trees.
I will have to look up the species,
but they are thick and bushy
and have sections like pine cones beneath the leaves.

Flowers at Zion 5: Utah Specials

Utah fleabane
(Erigeron Utahensis)--
looks like nearly every other fleabane to me,
but the nice Zion brochure was pretty clear about the species.

Then there's this one.
I *know* it's a sego lily and the state flower,
but is it Calochortus gunsonii or Calochortus nutallii?

And of course Juniperus osteosperma-
Utah juniper.
Not really a flower, but it's everywhere.

Golden Tree

First Green!!

I went out for lunch with my sister in downtown Salt Lake City today.
As we were driving by one of the streets, I caught my First Glimpse of green this year.
It's been warm, and the trees have been budding-
but lo and behold, real leaves!
Emily and I cheered!
And since we were stopped for a light in the car,
I was able to roll down the window and get a picture.
(No, I was not driving, anyway.)
What a perfect sight for St. Patrick's Day!
Even if he DID drive all the snakes out of Ireland.

Perpetual Motion

We went to Muir woods on Sunday.
I was trying to get a nice family portrait of my sister, her husband and kids, all dressed up after church, among the lovely trees.
Well the trees were fine, and the clothes were fine,
but the light was low,
and moreover it was extremely difficult to get pleasant expressions on everyone's face all at once.
Either Ethan was pulling faces,
or Sophie wasn't paying attention,
or their parents were admonishing them.
Or Sophie was moving about.
Sophie moved a lot.
This ended up being my favorite picture,
both because everyone has (at last) a reasonably pleasant expression,
and because everyone is still except Sophie,
who is slightly blurred.
To me this picture just sums up three year olds.

Mystery Tree B

For this tree, I could not get a needle closeup.
(The needles were WAY too high up.)
But this silhouette view determines that there are no 'packages.'
So, either a fir or a spruce, right?

The distinctive bark again is the real giveaway:

Here's a look at more of these trees,
growing everywhere in the eastern Sierra Nevadas:

Identified it yet?
Of course,
it is a CALIFORNIA RED FIR.

Mystery Tree A

The needles are a first step at identification.
I always remember the mnemonic I was taught as a child:
'Firs are flat and flexible,
Spruces are sharp and square,
Pines come in packages.'
Well, this 'package' consists of twinned needles:

And the cones are small- less than 2 inches,
with little pointy bits in the sections
(the tree book had a more technical way of putting it,
but it amounted to basically that):

And the bark was definitely distinctive.
Scaly, almost smooth.

Have you guessed what it is yet?
You are right:
It is a mature LODGE POLE PINE.

Tree Identification

You are in the eastern Sierra Nevadas.
The elevation is approximately 8,000 feet.
Can you identify these two tree types
by their distinctive trunks?


With the aid of my handy-dandy tree identification book,
I figured it out!
(See next post.)

Redbuds by Kalamazoo Dorms

Aren't these trees gorgeous?
The campus architecture may be utilitarian but we are certainly seeing Western Michigan University at the nicest possible time of year.