Palos verdes
Palos Verdes is the name of a wealthy town south of Los Angeles. Palos verdes is a good description in Spanish of the conspicuous ‘green branches’ of the tree that botanists classify as Parkinsonia aculeata and that bears the common name paloverde even in English. I photographed these many new branches of one on the fringe of Great Hills Park on February 27th. If you’d like to see some rather different views of this kind of tree that have appeared here, you can.
© 2014 Steven Schwartzman
Nature poked us in the ribs with a stick like those. We got an inch of snow last night. Most had already melted from the winter mess. This won’t last long.
Jim in IA
March 16, 2014 at 8:02 AM
As people have taken to saying in recent years, that’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. At least in these “sticks” you get some chlorophyll.
Steve Schwartzman
March 16, 2014 at 8:28 AM
Its German name is Jerusalem Thorn, but I’m not sure why Jerusalem in particular although I can imagine why… I tried growing a cousin – Caesalpinia pulcherrima – from seed last year, but it hated the damp spring and died at the grand height of about 6 inches! I love to see smooth stems against a blue sky, so this caught my eye. Very nice!
Cathy
March 16, 2014 at 9:19 AM
I never thought about why this tree is sometimes called Jerusalem thorn. At
http://www.eattheweeds.com/parkensonia-aculeatas-thorny-past-2/
I found a supposed explanation: “It has no connection to Jerusalem but got its name the same way the Jerusalem artichoke did from corruption of the Spanish/Portuguese word girasol, meaning turning towards the sun.”
I haven’t noticed this tree’s leaves turning toward the sun, but I’ve never checked to see if they do.
The Caesalpinia pulcherrima that you mentioned is commonly grown as an ornamental in Austin, and it seems pretty well behaved, in contrast to some other non-native species that are invasive. Speaking of which, I just read that paloverde has become an invader in Australia.
Steve Schwartzman
March 16, 2014 at 9:53 AM
Thanks for that link Steve – interesting about the corruption of the word girasol. I had thought it might have something to do with a crown of thorns! 😉
Cathy
March 17, 2014 at 2:33 AM
This tree has plenty of thorns, no question, but then so do many other plants in Texas that haven’t been given a name containing Jerusalem.
Steve Schwartzman
March 17, 2014 at 6:47 AM
I also read that it is an invader in Australia. I wonder what keeps it in check in the US? Just the climate?
Gallivanta
March 17, 2014 at 3:56 AM
Some botanists believe this species began in South America and may have gotten carried northward into Mexico and Texas by natural means or even by Spanish explorers in the 1500s. I’ve seen occasional dense groups of palovedes in Austin on untended land, so perhaps people are holding these trees in check elsewhere here.
Steve Schwartzman
March 17, 2014 at 7:00 AM
I also found a wildflower recently called ‘Arrasa con Todo”, and the name is in Spanish everywhere, even at the USDA. It’s interesting how some names (although not many) were able to retain the Spanish. Apparently the plant ‘Arrasa con Todo” was such a nuisance that they didn’t bother to translate it. (Just speculating hehe).
Tropical Flowering Zone/Maria
March 16, 2014 at 10:28 AM
I looked it up, and I assume you’re referring to Gomphrena serrata, which I wasn’t familiar with. I see what you mean about its being called arrasa con todo (wipes out everything, does away with everything), even on many English-language sites. In some places I saw the genus referred to as globe amaranth.
Steve Schwartzman
March 16, 2014 at 10:43 AM
Yes, that’s the one. It’s very small and what attracted me was the silvery white it has. It likes to grow on lawns. It’s quite common in the U.S..
Tropical Flowering Zone/Maria
March 16, 2014 at 8:42 PM
When I looked up arrasa con todo, I checked the USDA map of Texas and saw that this species been reported in only one county in the eastern part of the state, but not near me.
Steve Schwartzman
March 16, 2014 at 9:48 PM
L’effet entre ce vert et le bleu du ciel est saisissant.. magnifique!
bonne semaine Steve
chatou11
March 16, 2014 at 2:22 PM
C’est justement cette combinaison de couleurs qui m’a attiré, Chantal. Joyeux printemps.
Steve Schwartzman
March 16, 2014 at 2:26 PM
[…] contrast to the paloverde whose new growth is green, the black willow tree, Salix nigra, puts out slender young branches, and often many of them, that […]
Black willows with another color | Portraits of Wildflowers
March 17, 2014 at 6:03 AM
Delightfully graphic. Of course.
kathryningrid
March 17, 2014 at 2:18 PM
Naturally.
Steve Schwartzman
March 17, 2014 at 2:22 PM