Pinus parviflora

While at the nursery I mentioned last week, I also had a chance to take a few snapshots of a good-looking Pinus parviflora, or Japanese white pine.


Identifying pines always intimidates my students in the beginning, but it's a straightforward task. Pine needles grow in little bundles called fascicles. Depending on the species of pine, the fascicles house groups of two, three or five needles. So, the first thing one does, when faced with an unknown pine species, is count the number of needles per bundle. This narrows down the list of possible candidates. In this case, Pinus parviflora has five needles per fascicle, as does Himalayan pine (P. wallichiana), limber pine (Pinus flexilis) and white pine (Pinus strobus), to name a few.

To further narrow the choices, one must assess the needles themselves, checking the rigidity and length. These needles are quite stiff and are about two inches long -- significantly shorter than the three other aforementioned pines.


Of course, another characteristic unique to Japanese white pine is the spare, small habit of the tree. This is a decidedly more delicate plant than the bigger white and Himalayan pines. Finally, the stomatal stripe that I mentioned previously in regards to Douglasfir, is quite prevalent in this pine species.

Parvi- means 'many' and -flora obviously means flowers. Thus, this plant flowers profusely. Though the flowers are inconspicuous, this characteristic is notable for the subsequent profusion of pine cones.

Fashion Week

Last Saturday I began a new semester of my plants 2 class (evergreen plants). Before the course begins, I need to figure out where each class will take place. This is always complicated. Each park must have 14-16 new species to show the students and in the weeks that follow class 1, I must also have five to ten plants from the preceding weeks to use for quizzes. Finally, I like to vary where we have class, so students can see different design styles.

Bryant Park is a good spot for plants 2; there are four different hollies (Ilex glabra, I. x. meserveae, a variegated I. aquifolium and I. crenata), a dwarf Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens 'Glauca Globosa'), Cherrylaurels (Prunus laurocerasus) and Common Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens), to name a few. Also, the park is compact and little time is wasted by walking long distances.

On my way to Bryant Park Saturday, I felt pretty good. Hurricane Hanna was on her way, but it looked like there was a chance we would wrap up class before she finally landed in New York. I had also checked out the park a week ago and was able to ensure all the plants I intended to teach were still there (you never know when a tree will die or be removed or transplanted).

And then I actually got to the park.

It is fashion week in New York in case, like me, you didn't realize it. In addition to the Ilex, Buxus, Prunus and Picea, there were Manolos, Guccis, Puccis and Pradas. Fashionistas and bloggers were camped at the coffee kiosks and workers - I guess they'd be fashion roadies - were running around with cables and walkie talkies. We did a pretty good job of covering the required material, though a bit of trespassing was necessary. We had to sneak behind some metal partitions that blocked access to the mixed border lining the north side of the lawn (where the tents had been erected) in order to get to the Picea, a Yew (Taxus cuspidata 'Capitata'), a Yucca (Yucca filamentosa) and the most tongue-twistingest plant of the course, Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera Aurea' (Gold Threadleaf Falsecypress). Amazingly, no one seemed to care; security personnel donning badges walked past us several times, utterly nonplussed by our presence. I almost took it personally; evidently we offered absolutely no threat to fashion. On the bright side, I think we were the only people in the vicinity who weren't very, very, very hungry. And our feet didn't hurt.


And yes, we also got to see La Lohan herself. While we were inspecting a leaf on an inkberry (I. glabra), we became distracted by what had to have been about 2 dozen photographers all surrounding Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson. I had never seen the paparrazzi in action before. It was a little hard to comprehend, honestly. Our class (and some very nice specimens of inkberry) are pretty much right behind that mass of people.

So, I guess my point is, if you like fashion and you like plants, now is a good time to check out Byrant Park.

2nd Avenue Station/Liz Christy Garden

There was something I found quite striking about the color combination of the purple morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea) and the red leaves and flowers of what I am guessing is a tall celosia (Celosia plumosa).

I wasn't the only one taken with this composition. It appears* that someone was on their way to the F train with an apple and a plastic cup of water (or orange juice. Or vodka.) when, transfixed by the contrast of such hot, strong colors, they paused, and took a moment to contemplate the endless number of hues and textures the botanical world has to offer. A moment later, they returned back to reality and, realizing they were late for work (or their AA meeting), they rushed down the steps, abandoning the breakfast.

*Click to enlarge if you can't figure out what I am talking about!

This was a pretty overcast morning which really made the purple and red pop out when I was walking to the subway, however the photo doesn't quite do this justice.

Here's another shot (somewhat unfocused -- sorry, it was a really early morning and I was running late) of morning glory:


Ipomoea purpurea shares its genus with the sweet potato (I. batatas). The genus means "worm-like," which is a reference to the coiling habit of the vine. This tendency is also noted in the genus's family name Convolvulaceae, derivative of Latin convolvere or "to twine around."

Student Post, Cottonwood

The Eastern Cottonwood, Populus deltoides. Family Salicaceae (Willow Family)

I grew up with this tree in the South, specifically along the sandy riparian creek banks of the Ozark Mountains, in northwest Arkansas. As many of the adult trees were harvested for timber, it became apparent that no new saplings were growing to replace these old stands of towering trees. This caused me to do a little research to see why.

I began to search the internet for plausible reasons. This is what I learned about the culture of the tree.

Cottonwood trees are one of the largest North American hardwood trees, exceptionally tolerant of flooding, erosion and flood deposits filling around the trunk.

Cottonwoods are widely grown for timber production, providing a large crop of wood within 10-30 years. The wood is coarse and of fairly low value, used for pallet boxes, shipping crates and similar. Cottonwood is one of the poorest woods to use as wood fuel. It does not dry well and rots quickly.

There are three species of Cottonwood: Eastern Cottonwood Populus deltoides; Fremont Cottonwood, Populus fremontii and Black Poplar, Populus nigra. Many of the cottonwoods grown commercially are the hybrid between Eastern Cottonwood and Black Poplar, Populus × canadensis, Hybrid Black Poplar or Carolina Poplar.

The bark is silvery-white, smooth or lightly fissured when young, becoming dark gray and deeply fissured on old trees. The twigs are grayish-yellow, stout, with large triangular leaf scars.

The leaves are large, deltoid (triangular), with a truncated (flattened) base. This flattened petiole causes a distinct leaf motion in the wind. The leaves are dark green in the summer and turn yellow in the fall. The leaves are green on both sides.

Cottonwood are dioecious; the male pollen catkins are reddish-purple; the female catkins are green, which split open to release the numerous small seeds attached to cotton-like strands.

Cottonwood trees are susceptible to the Cottonwood Borer (Plectrodera scalator Fabricius). Note, this beetle is native and not the same as the Asian Longhorn Beatle.

The adult beetles appear in midsummer, feed on leaves and then descend to the base of the tree where the female deposits eggs into small pits gnawed in the bark. Eggs hatch and the larvae bore downward in the inner bark, entering a large root by autumn. Pupation occurs in the gallery from April to June. The new adults chew exit holes and emerge through the soil. Larvae complete development in 1 – 2 years.

My research could not confirm that the beetles were the cause for the disappearing trees. While beetles can cause severe damage to young trees and can severely weaken mature tree trunks to the point of breaking off during high winds, they do not completely wipe out stands of trees.

As with most insect infestations, healthy trees can withstand attacks from insects better than unhealthy trees. Therefore, proper site selection, irrigation and fertilization are important steps to reduce injury. In the instance of the trees along the sandy banks of the Ozarks, the site may have been unfavorable in combination with the appearance of the beetles. It would be great to reintroduce the trees once further study can determine the cause for the decline.

This post is by Paul Harness, Photos by Kevin Waltermire