chamise

species: Adenostoma fasciculatum

common name: chamise

family: Rosaceae

where & when encountered: Pinnacles NM - 1998

Another true California chaparral shrub. I remember working around it when it was in flower, as seen above, and the pollen just got all over me - pants, shirt, hair and down my sweaty neck.

tree peony

species: Paeonia suffruticosa

common name: tree peony

family: Paeoniaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2004

These plants have a long history of being cultivated in China, where they have cultural and medicinal value. In America they are grown more as a curiosity and for their ornamental beauty.

agapanthus

species: Agapanthus africanus

common name: agapanthus

family: Amarylidaceae

where & when encountered: King City, CA - 2004

This relative of onions is a good example of a South African plant that has been successfully introduced to California, which has a similar climate.

trumpet vine

species: Campsis radicans

common name: trumpet vine

family: Bignoniaceae

where & when encountered: Louisiana - 2010

This beautiful vine is native to the southeast U.S. but has spread all over the country. Since it was brought to my attention in 2010, I have seen it growing on fences in California and New York. The plant is simultaneously in demand and considered invasive. The ones shown here were in Louisiana and therefore in their native habitat.

star magnolia

species: Magnolia stellata

common name: star magnolia

family: Magnoliaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 1960's

These small magnolias are of Japanese origin but popular in North America and Europe for landscaping. I grew up around them and their famous "pussy willow" buds and weird fruits made an impression on me. Those trees have been around a long time, maybe as long as I have.

manzanita

species: Arctostaphylos genus

common name: manzanita

family: Ericaceae

where & when encountered: Monterey county - 1998

The name means "little apple" in Spanish because that is what the fruit resembles. This is a true California chaparral shrub - drought resistant and adapted to fire. It has smooth, copper-colored bark like its larger relative, the madrone.

Confederate rose

species: Hibiscus mutabilis

common name: Confederate rose

family: Malvaceae

where & when encountered: Covington, LA - 2012

I had never encountered anything quite like this: a flower that starts the day white, then gradually turns pink, and by the end of the day is red. It sounds like science fiction, but in the Deep South it is a fact of life. There are chemical explanations for this phenomenon that are too complex for my little brain to summarize here.

yellowwood

species: Cladrastis kentukea

common name: American yellowwood

family: Fabaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 1960's?

I grew up around these beautiful trees that are native to Kentucky (hence the alternative name Kentucky yellowwood) but I hadn't fully appreciated the name until I split the wood around 2009. Just how yellow it gets these photos start to give an indication. The smooth, light gray bark is equally distinctive.

tree tobacco

species: Nicotiana glauca

common name: tree tobacco

family: Solanaceae

where & when encountered: Salinas Valley - 1998

This striking roadside weed of South American origin did not fail to get my attention while driving around the Salinas Valley. It's a wild form of tobacco that some southwestern Native Americans have been known to smoke. Aesthetically, I've always liked the tubular flowers and rubbery leaves. The tree in these photos is a rare case of this plant being used for landscaping.

bottlebrush

species: Callistemon genus

common name: bottlebrush

family: Myrtaceae

where & when encountered: King City, CA - 1998

This is a very Australian plant that has become hugely popular in California landscaping. I won't forget the first time I saw it - I was working in a park at the time and a co-worker identified it by its common name. But not only is the species unclear, there are those who would merge the entire Callistemon genus with the Melaleuca genus.

beargrass

species: Xerophyllum tenax

common name: beargrass

family: Melanthiaceae

where & when encountered: Glacier NP, Montana - 1996

Visiting a friend in Glacier National Park, these plants were pointed out to me along a trail that went through bear territory. I thought maybe that the bears ate the grass - hence the name - but no. According to the National Park Service, other animals do eat it (deer, elk, goats and bighorn sheep), but the bears use it for "denning material".

andromeda

species: Pieris genus

common name: andromeda

family: Ericaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 1960's

I grew up with these tall shrubs with creamy flowers but did not know them by name till maybe the 1990's. They are native to both North America and Asia and widely cultivated for landscaping. I'm not sure if these are native or imported but I do know that they are as old as I am. They are probably Pieris japonica.

traveller's tree

species: Ravenala madagasceriensis

common name: traveller's tree

family: Strelitziaceae

where & when encountered: Jamaica - 2007

This unforgettable tree comes from Madagascar. I had read about it when I first recall seeing it in Jamaica in 2007, and the above photograph was taken in Belize in 2013. There are actually two very good books that use "The Traveller's Tree" as its title: one by Patrick Leigh Fermor and the other by Bruno Bontempelli. If you like the tree, you will probably like the books.

wild cucumber

species: Marah fabaceus

common name: wild cucumber

family: Curcurbitaceae

where & when encountered: Pinnacles NM, CA - 1998

Since the first time I saw this vine with spiny fruits growing in a wilderness setting, I have seen it in back yards, vacant lots, roadsides - and most notably - as the main pioneer plant reclaiming the scorched earth of the Thomas Fire (above).

winged euonymus

species: Euonymus alatus

common name: winged euonymus

family: Celastraceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 1960's or 70's

I remember as a boy gazing at these "winged" stems - they leave quite an impression. The "wings" look like cork, and in fact are a form of it. Native to Asia, this shrub is grown ornamentally here in North America, but spreads easily and is now recognized as an invasive species. The fall foliage is quite striking, however (below).

tamarisk

species: Tamarix genus

common name: tamarisk, salt cedar

family: Tamaricaceae

where & when encountered: Lake Skinner, CA - 2002

There is no getting past the beauty of these pinkish-white flowers. Tamarisk is a perfect example of a plant that is as noxiously invasive as it is appealing to look at. These photos were taken along the scruffy banks of the Salinas River in 2010, but my first unforgettable encounter was at the Skinner Reservoir in Riverside county.

ornamental okra

species: Abelmoschus manihot

common name: ornamental okra

family: Malvaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2013

Ornamental okra is a close relative of edible okra, Abelmoschus esculentus. The name "okra" is of Nigerian origin, and the native range of these plants spans the entire Old World tropics. While the species shown here is primarily ornamental, their leaves are widely consumed as a vegetable in Fiji.

flannelbush

species: Fremontodendron genus

common name: flannelbush

family: Malvaceae

where & when encountered: UCSC arboretum - 2012

Another California native, it almost looks like a yellow version of island mallow, which also belongs to the Malvaceae family. It is not only native but drought-resistant, making it increasingly desirable for landscaping.

wild rhubarb

species: Arctium minus

common name: wild rhubarb, common burdock

family: Asteraceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2013

After some consideration, I believe this plant is common burdock, which is sometimes called wild rhubarb. It is similar looking and easily confused with edible rhubarb, which is in the Polygonaceae family. In any case, the large leaves speak to the rich soils and abundant moisture of the east coast.

bottle tree

species: Brachychiton populneus

common name: bottle tree, Kurrajong

family: Malvaceae

where & when encountered: Gonzales, CA - 2010

Australia excels at producing bizarre trees and to stumble upon a whole row of these, apparently serving as a windbreak or privacy screen, was quite an experience. Both the flowers (above) and the pods (below) are equally eye-grabbing. Whether the common names "bottle tree" and "Kurrajong" are interchangeable is not clear. What is known is that California, Arizona and Louisiana are all states that have introduced these curiosities.

Culver's root

species: Veronicastrum virginicum

common name: Culver's root

family: Plantaginaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2013

The white flowers would have been striking enough, but the first time I saw them they were covered with dark bees (below)! Native to the eastern half of the United States, this plant is increasingly popular in the gardening community. Who was Culver? An 18th century frontier doctor who used the roots as a laxative. Modern medicine has since warned against such ingestion.

island mallow

species: Malva assurgentiflora

common name: island mallow

family: Malvaceae

where & when encountered: Soledad, CA - 2009

When I first identified this native of the California Channel Islands, it was classified as Lavatera assurgentiflora, so in my mind I always think of it as "lavatera". I'm not sure why they changed the name of of the genus to Malva. In any case it's a beautiful flower and I have seen it growing both wild and in gardens. I have even seen it growing in restoration projects on the Channel Islands.

orange jewelweed

species: Impatiens capensis

common name: orange jewelweed

family: Balsaminaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2005

These photographs were taken in 2013, but the very distinctive flowers were pointed out to me years earlier. Stands of this North American native appear naturally in the wild, in woodlands and along creeks - these were seen along shaded dirt roads. They are also sometimes called spotted touch-me-not. 

anchor plant

species: Colletia paradoxa

common name: anchor plant

family: Rhamnaceae

where & when encountered: Catalina Island, CA - 2016

This strikingly odd plant, which to me looks like a flock of oragami birds or airplanes, is native to South America but was seen at the Wrigley Botanic Garden on Catalina Island. The genus is named for the French botanist Philibert Collet (1643-1718).

bur oak

species: Quercus macrocarpa

common name: bur oak

family: Fagaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2015

What distinguishes this oak from the rest is that it is one of the tallest and produces the largest acorn of any species in North America - hence the name macrocarpa, which means large fruit. Bur oak is sometimes spelled burr oak.

cork oak

species: Quercus suber

common name: cork oak

family: Fagaceae

where & when encountered: Salinas, CA - early 2000's?

The most incredible thing about these cork trees is that they go almost unnoticed in a parking lot in downtown Salinas. I myself didn't realize at first what they were, nor do I recall the date that I did. I just know that after that ah-ha moment I referred to this place as the "cork tree parking lot". These photos were take in 2013.

fern-leaf beech

species: Fagus sylvatica

common name: fern-leaf beech

family: Fagaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2013

This is a cultivar of the widely distributed European beech, Fagus sylvatica. Yet another discovery from the summer of 2013, I will never forget the moment this tree caught my attention.