Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Field Notes: Blooming Brooklyn

A walk around Brooklyn yesterday found these colors:
Cherry in Green-Wood.
Columbine in Prospect.
Eastern redbud in Clinton Hill.
Royal Paulownia in Clinton Hill.

mthew

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6 responses to “Field Notes: Blooming Brooklyn”

  1. Xris (Flatbush Gardener)

    The third photo is another flowering Cherry, not a Redbud. Redbuds have stalkless flowers held tight against the bark.

    Reply
  2. mthew

    Thanks, Chris. Now updated.

    Reply
  3. mthew

    On second thought, it definitely is a redbud. Leaves are coming out now and they are heart-shaped. Flowers are pea-like, befitting a member of the legume family. This past weekend when I was in the BBG’s Native Flora Garden, and the blooming specimen there clinched it.

    Reply
  4. Xris (Flatbush Gardener)

    Thanks for following up. The leaves are a key. And checking other references, the flowers appear to be more stalked than I’m familiar with.

    Sorry for the misdirection!

    Reply
  5. mthew

    Perhaps it’s a cultivar, something “street-hardy.”

    As always, I encourage alternative opinions, since I am far from expert.

    Reply
  6. Xris (Flatbush Gardener)

    I know Redbuds well – it’s one of my favorite native trees – so I’m embarrassed I got this one so wrong. I would recognize it instantly if I saw it in person. It’s often hard to id a plant from isolated characteristics in the flattened perspective of a photo.

    Reply

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