If I were a tree I might be this one if only I knew what it was.
December 13, 2011 12:21 PM Subscribe
This tree is a mystery, what kind of tree is it? I have photos!
This tree of unknown origin sits outside the window of our office break room. There are actually two of them. We have no idea what kind of tree it might be and I've never seen anything like it elsewhere. I can't get any closer since it's on a restricted part of the campus. It has these balls on it that it grows more in the cold months that start out dark purple-ish and then get lighter to the yellow you can see mostly there. But they never seem to grow fruit or flowers and I can't tell if that's what the leaves come out of or what. There also doesn't seem to be much falling to the ground and it stays like this through the winter. Nothing particularly interesting about the bark, just brown and reasonably smooth (not peeling or especially knotty).
The leaves are spikey and really interesting and I'd love to know what it is.
This is in Northern California.
This tree of unknown origin sits outside the window of our office break room. There are actually two of them. We have no idea what kind of tree it might be and I've never seen anything like it elsewhere. I can't get any closer since it's on a restricted part of the campus. It has these balls on it that it grows more in the cold months that start out dark purple-ish and then get lighter to the yellow you can see mostly there. But they never seem to grow fruit or flowers and I can't tell if that's what the leaves come out of or what. There also doesn't seem to be much falling to the ground and it stays like this through the winter. Nothing particularly interesting about the bark, just brown and reasonably smooth (not peeling or especially knotty).
The leaves are spikey and really interesting and I'd love to know what it is.
This is in Northern California.
Sorry, podocarpus. It's a conifer, thus the lack of flowers.
posted by purpleclover at 12:27 PM on December 13, 2011
posted by purpleclover at 12:27 PM on December 13, 2011
I think purpleclover has it. We've got these all over my area, and I remembered hearing them referred to with a name that started with P (initially I thought pittosporum, but that's different). I think it's definitely a Podocarpus.
posted by LionIndex at 12:28 PM on December 13, 2011
posted by LionIndex at 12:28 PM on December 13, 2011
If not a Juniper (does look like one, yes!), it could also be a Metasequoia / Dawn Redwood, which has similar foliage and round cones. But... they're native to China, although they are popular as an ornamental tree, according to that Wikipedia entry.
posted by fraula at 12:29 PM on December 13, 2011
posted by fraula at 12:29 PM on December 13, 2011
Google image search for podocarpus, which returns some better photos than those included in the wikipedia article.
Typically, junipers have much smaller leaves and berries than podocarpus trees - fractions of an inch for each for specimens growing in the western US, while the podocarpus berries are typically about an inch in diameter, with 1-2 inch leaves.
posted by LionIndex at 12:36 PM on December 13, 2011
Typically, junipers have much smaller leaves and berries than podocarpus trees - fractions of an inch for each for specimens growing in the western US, while the podocarpus berries are typically about an inch in diameter, with 1-2 inch leaves.
posted by LionIndex at 12:36 PM on December 13, 2011
Response by poster: The images for podocarpus seems about right with the leaves looking like the less dangerous/spikey leaves of most juniper trees. I hadn't even considered juniper at all since I'm used to the berries in their dried form which is very small compared to what these are. And obviously in their gin form which is just plain tasty.
posted by marylynn at 12:39 PM on December 13, 2011
posted by marylynn at 12:39 PM on December 13, 2011
Best answer: Dawn redwoods (Metasequoia) are deciduous. The ones in the Bay Area have brown leaves or have lost them at this point in the season. Plus, they have little frond-y leaves, not the large linear ones in the photos.
I can't think of a juniper that would get nearly as big as the tree in the photos, and they don't grow so nicely with the central trunk and the oval crown. Their leaves are blue-green and sort of like little scaly branches.
As for the tree in question, I would bet that it was purchased as Podocarpus gracilior (link is from Merritt College in Oakland). The arils (not fruit) of the linked example of P. gracilior look like the ones in the photos and the text notes that they start out red or purple, like the OP's description. In the nursery trade, these trees are still called P. gracilior, but I think they might be technically called Afrocarpus gracilior now.
posted by purpleclover at 1:25 PM on December 13, 2011 [2 favorites]
I can't think of a juniper that would get nearly as big as the tree in the photos, and they don't grow so nicely with the central trunk and the oval crown. Their leaves are blue-green and sort of like little scaly branches.
As for the tree in question, I would bet that it was purchased as Podocarpus gracilior (link is from Merritt College in Oakland). The arils (not fruit) of the linked example of P. gracilior look like the ones in the photos and the text notes that they start out red or purple, like the OP's description. In the nursery trade, these trees are still called P. gracilior, but I think they might be technically called Afrocarpus gracilior now.
posted by purpleclover at 1:25 PM on December 13, 2011 [2 favorites]
Came in to say that it is one of my favorite trees in the whole world, Podocarpus!
posted by jbenben at 2:27 PM on December 13, 2011
posted by jbenben at 2:27 PM on December 13, 2011
Response by poster: The more I look at photos of Podocarpus gracilior the more I'm convinced that's it. Thanks purpleclover!
I'm also happy to see it might be suitable for a container. I don't have a yard but I'd love to have one I could grow outside my front door. It's such a pretty tree.
posted by marylynn at 3:23 PM on December 13, 2011
I'm also happy to see it might be suitable for a container. I don't have a yard but I'd love to have one I could grow outside my front door. It's such a pretty tree.
posted by marylynn at 3:23 PM on December 13, 2011
« Older Phone or Web app to track sending/receiving of... | Man from China. Painted mural. Maybe in... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by munchingzombie at 12:24 PM on December 13, 2011