trees
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Borough of Trees? Since When?
The Greek Revival wooden colonnade connecting these four townhouses on Willow Place in Brooklyn Heights is a wonderful window into the au courant style of the 1840s. But this isn’t an architecture blog. What I want to share with you is the trees. When Berenice Abbott took a picture of this row on May 14,…
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December Color
Baldcypress, Taxodium distichum, at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Pop Quiz: The “baldy cypress” is common in its native swamp habitat in the southeastern U.S., and rather less common as a street tree here in NYC. But why, since our streets are only metaphorically swampy — usually — should this species do well here at all? If…
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Bright in November
Some of the last leaves standing in the city are on the Callery pear trees, Pyrus calleryana. (And by “city,” I mean NYC, in case you’re confused by my bi-metropolitan posting of late.) The Callery, especially in its Bradford variety, is a fairly common street tree here. The tree really shines this time of year,…
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Oh, Canada
Montreal’s maples were frequently spotted like this. I think it’s a tar spot fungus in the Rhytisma genus, mostly harmless but cosmetically challenging.
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American Chestnut, Prospect Park
Stumbled on another American Chestnut in Prospect Park. A city of leaves on a hill.
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99 Percent
of the trees at Occupy Wall Street‘s Liberty Square (f.k.a. Zuccotti Park) are Honeylocusts, Gleditsia triacanthos. Click on image to open big. There is a lone London Plane, Platanus ‘x acerifolia‘ in the northwest corner, or right-hand side of the picture. (Sorry, the creepy mobile police observation tower was off-limits for a more encompassing picture.)…
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Big Brooklyn Tree
A recent post by my fellow naturalist co-conspirator Melissa at Out Walking the Dog mentioned “state champion trees.” I was curious to find out more about these. To be on NY state’s Big Tree Register, trees are awarded points based on their height in feet plus trunk circumference in inches plus 1/4th of average crown…
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Autumn: American Chestnut
Prospect Park’s American chestnuts are still with us, no thanks to the onslaught of wild weather this year. One of the young trees is bent over, weighed down by last week’s snowstorm, and not rebounded. The heavy, wet snow combined with still-leaved trees — a fine illustration of why our broad-leaved trees lose their leaves…
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Sumac Light
Standing under or near certain trees this time of year bathes you in the color of their leaves. They make the space around them glow. I think of Honey Locusts, with their hundreds of thousands of tiny yellow leaflets mellowing the air, and Sumacs, with this brilliant red magic-hour light all day long (as long…
Backyard and Beyond 