"true" myrtle

species: Myrtus communis

common name: myrtle

family: Myrtaceae

where & when encountered: Ventura, CA - 2018

Known as the "true" myrtle I suppose because it was the original European species, native to the Mediterranean, after which many other species were named. The Myrtus genus was coined by Linnaeus in 1753.

tea tree

species: Melaleuca alternifolia

common name: tea tree

family: Myrtaceae

where & when encountered: Australia - 2017

I credit Wilsons Prom National Park for clarifying what tea trees look like. The Melaleuca genus also includes a common street tree in California that looks very different (Melaleuca quinquenervia), but the primary source of the famous tea tree oil are these these gnarled looking trees seen growing all over the Prom.

mayten

species: Maytenus boaria

common name: mayten

family: Celastraceae

where & when encountered: Monterey county - 2008

I used to confuse these with pepper trees (Schinus molle) but maytens are a touch less shaggy and even more like weeping willows. Both trees - pepper and mayten - come from Latin America.

linden

species: Tilia americana

common name: linden

family: Malvaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2013

I must have walked by this very common tree hundreds of times before really examining it. It is the leaves of lindens that are distinctive and beautiful. Lindens are also common in Europe, but this is their American counterpart.

Wollemi pine

species: Wollemia nobilis

common name: Wollemi pine

family: Araucariaceae

where & when encountered: Australia - 2017

Wollemi pines were thought to be extinct until 1994 when a park ranger stumbled upon some in the woods. Truly they are living fossils, dating back to the dinosaur era. Today they are alive and well and growing in places like the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, where we saw the ones above. The name nobilis honors the ranger who found them, David Noble.

strawberry tree

species: Arbutus unedo

common name: strawberry tree

family: Ericaceae

where & when encountered: Salinas, CA - 2005

These delightful landscaping trees from the Mediterranean are related to manzanitas and madrones. The fruits are indeed edible, and in Europe there is a history of using them to make jams and spirits.

tibouchina

species: Tibouchina genus

common name: tibouchina

family: Melastomataceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2010

This beautiful native of the American tropics is grown throughout the U.S. for its ornamental beauty. I first took note of it in New York, but have since seen it elsewhere, mainly in California.

desert oak

species: Allocasuarina decaisneana

common name: desert oak

family: Casuarinaceae

where & when encountered: Australia - 2017

These trees that to me resemble pines more than oaks are abundant in the Australian Outback and are by far the most prevalent in the areas surrounding Uluru (a.k.a. Ayers Rock).

bunya-bunya pine

species: Araucaria bidwillii

common name: bunya-bunya pine

family: Araucaria

where & when encountered: Tustin, CA - 2003

The bunya-bunya pine from Australia is related to the monkey-puzzle tree, which I was introduced to first, and for a while I wrongly referred to the former as the latter. Now the distinction is very clear to me. Bunya-bunyas are quite tall (up to 150 feet) and are seen throughout California. 

Agastache

species: Agastache genus

common name: anise hyssop

family: Lamiaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2013

Agastache is a widely cultivated and hybridized genus of the mint family. This one is said to be a cross between Agastache barberi and Agastache mexicana. It is also said to smell like tutti-frutti, hence the name.

honey grevillea

species: Grevillea genus

common name: honey grevillea

family: Proteaceae

where & when encountered: Australia - 2017

We were told at Uluru National Park that the aborigines ate these inflorescences for their sweetness. To me they seem like both fruits and flowers. I had seen many grevillea trees but never a shrub. It turns out that hybrids of these shrubs are now used for gardening and landscaping.

orange candleflower

species: Arum italicum

common name: orange candleflower

family: Araceae

where & when encountered: Salinas, CA - 2016

Strikingly weird and beautiful to behold, this oddity is also toxic and invasive outside of the Mediterranean. California seems to have its share. In this picture the flowers are seen bursting through some passionflower vines.

bigleaf magnolia

species: Magnolia macrophylla

common name: bigleaf magnolia

family: Magnoliaceae

where & when encountered: Westbury, NY - 2017

What a surprise when I stumbled upon these huge leaves at the Friends Cemetery in my northern home state. The bigleaf magnolia is native to the deep south so its appearance here is somewhat of an anomaly.  The leaves, which can exceed 30 inches, are the largest of any native North American plant. Note that the undersides of the leaves are a much paler color.

jacaranda

species: Jacaranda mimosifolia

common name: jacaranda

family: Bignoniaceae

where & when encountered: Santa Barbara, CA - 2001

Native to Latin America but widely planted as a street tree in southern California, jacaranda trees in bloom are a striking sight that one is not likely to forget.

weeping Norway spruce

species: Picea abies 'Inversa'

common name: weeping Norway spruce

family: Pinaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2010

This may well be the first time I was made aware of the "weeping" variety of pine. Since then I have seen many examples. 'Inversa' is the cultivar seen here that accentuates the weeping aspect. Norway spruce grows throughout Europe as far east as the Ural Mountains, where its population blends with  Siberian spruce.

Matilija poppy

species: Romneya coulteri

common name: Matilija poppy

family: Papaveraceae

when & where encountered: Monterey county, CA - 2010

I have also heard these called "fried egg flowers", which is delightfully descriptive. The genus is named for the 19th century Irish astronomer Thomas Romney Robinson.

forsythia

species: Forsythia genus

common name: forsythia

family: Oleaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2013

In April these shrubs turn into a wall of yellow. The name honors 18th century Scottish botanist William Forsyth. Somehow this plant is related to olives.

poor man's umbrella

species: Gunnera insignis

common name: poor man's umbrella

family: Gunneraceae

where & when encountered: Costa Rica - 2015

We encountered this extraordinary plant, with leaves that get up to five feet wide, at Poas Volcano National Park. I don't think I've seen larger leaves anywhere.