Wednesday, July 30, 2014

I wish they'd label these things!

Can you help me identify this tree?

Half in light, half in shade, all in the window.

This is growing beside Central City mall in Surrey, where we stopped for coffee. I was only carrying my little purse camera, and I couldn't get into a position to take the whole tree "live" without getting run down by buses. So a reflection will have to do.

The leaves are arranged oddly, layered tightly around each branch down its entire length, although each branch stands alone.

A few of the top branches. 

The lowest branches, in the shade of the buildings, were just a few inches out of our reach.

Where the sunshine hits, they're yellow-green; in shade, they're blue-green.

Fat, heart-shaped leaves.

It looks familiar, as if I should recognize it, but I don't. It's not in any of our books.

Any ideas?

UPDATE: It's been identified, in the comments and on Facebook, as Katsura.

Cercidiphyllum is a genus containing two species of plants, both commonly called Katsura. They are the sole members of the monotypic family Cercidiphyllaceae. The genus is native to Japan and China.
... Katsura is grown as an ornamental tree for its delicate heart-shaped leaves and bright autumn colour, a mix of bright yellow, pink and orange-red. ... Of particular interest is the scent produced by the leaves in the autumn, resembling burnt brown sugar or cotton candy.

From Wikipedia.

3 comments:

  1. leaves sure look like redbud, but the growth form is odd.

    ReplyDelete
  2. wait, on closer inspection, are the edges toothed? How about Katsura?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I looked it up; I think you're right. I'll update the post.

    ReplyDelete

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