Since the last few posts have been about Central Park Zoo, I'll stay there for a bit longer, at least to talk about Halesia tetraptera, or Carolina silverbell.
Carolina silverbell is a small understory flowering tree that can ultimately reach a size of 30-40 feet (there's a larger one on the north side of Central Park bandshell, too). It has a lemony fall color that is evident in these photos, and in mid-spring the plant is covered with white bell-shaped flowers.
But today, and even after the leaves have fallen, the notable characteristic that remains is the seedpods. Tetraptera literally means four-winged and refers to the four flattened corners of the seedpod. Halesia is named for a botanist, Stephen Hales.
4 comments:
I love these trees. I think there's supposed to be a pink variety, but I've never seen it.
It's a favorite of mine, too. I read about the pink cultivars, but personally I think it diminishes the pristine quality of the bell shaped flowers....
Wow! great blog. I know you went surfing one past New Years Day, so this is sans wet suit, san boots, gloves hat and so on. Congrats.
inclusive in a concrete jungle like this, the life grow, is nice know about the different plants that bring us the bit oxygen in this rotten city.
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