[WPRESTO]

Acacia, detail.

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[paulh]

Bottlebrush canopy -

[WPRESTO]

African tree with a growth form unlike any we see in the USA

Correction, see a couple posts down. This is almost certainly the inflorescence of an American aloe, a plant introduced to Africa by farmers.because of its drought resistance.

[OrchidJulie]

African tree with a growth form unlike any we see in the USA.

Very interesting. Looks much like the infloresence (flowering stem) of some agaves. Is it really a tree? How peculiar!

[paulh]

Strong Santa Ana winds in January played havoc with some of the eucalyptus in the area:

[WPRESTO]

Very interesting. Looks much like the infloresence (flowering stem) of some agaves. Is it really a tree? How peculiar!

A "tree" in the sense that it is really tall and obviously has a single major "trunk," but what is the technical definition for "tree" if different from those parameters? However, I agree that it would not qualify as a tree if the base is surrounded by big, blade-form succulent leaves. I'll have to check, if I can.

Just did some checking and you are almost certainly correct. American Aloe known as "Garingboom" has been introduced to some areas by farmers in South Africa as drought resistant forage. I know I photographed some as the tour bus as we were going along, but I think the one I posted was taken at one of the lodges where we stayed.

ADDENDUM: Close-up of the flowers, Also a picture of Euphorbia ingens, the "African candelabra tree"

[OrchidJulie]

Just did some checking and you are almost certainly correct. American Aloe known as "Garingboom" has been introduced to some areas by farmers in South Africa as drought resistant forage.

Aloes are closely related to agaves, which are western hemisphere plants, but as with so many, they are widely distributed nowadays. There's one, Agave parryi, which has a one-time bloom spike similar to the one in your image. Yes, they would have a basal rosette of fleshy leaves. As for "trees", I'm sure there is a botanical definition but I don't know what it is. Trees are woody, I know that, and many plants called "tree" aren't, in fact, strictly trees. Bananas come to mind, they can be quite large and "tree-like", but they aren't trees at all. Not woody, for one thing. Anyway, many agaves (and the larger aloes) are sometimes called "century" plants. They are very slow-growing and only bloom once in their lifetime, not necessarily after a "century" of growing but certainly after decades. And of course Agave americana is the plant cultivated for tequila production.


Euphorbias are interesting. Some, like that one, are thorny succulents. But poinsettias are euphorbias, too. There are a lot of them cultivated as ornamentals. Some are very handsome, that one certainly is.

[WPRESTO]

Aloes are closely related to agaves, which are western hemisphere plants, but as with so many, they are widely distributed nowadays. There's one, Agave parryi, which has a one-time bloom spike similar to the one in your image. Yes, they would have a basal rosette of fleshy leaves. As for "trees", I'm sure there is a botanical definition but I don't know what it is. Trees are woody, I know that, and many plants called "tree" aren't, in fact, strictly trees. Bananas come to mind, they can be quite large and "tree-like", but they aren't trees at all. Not woody, for one thing. Anyway, many agaves (and the larger aloes) are sometimes called "century" plants. They are very slow-growing and only bloom once in their lifetime, not necessarily after a "century" of growing but certainly after decades. And of course Agave americana is the plant cultivated for tequila production.


Euphorbias are interesting. Some, like that one, are thorny succulents. But poinsettias are euphorbias, too. There are a lot of them cultivated as ornamentals. Some are very handsome, that one certainly is.

Yes. The candleabra euphorb is attractive. If you just GOOGLE "African trees, images" it is probably the distant second to baobab images that come up.

[noelcmn]

[OrchidJulie]

Yes. The candleabra euphorb is attractive. If you just GOOGLE "African trees, images" it is probably the distant second to baobab images that come up.

Now baobabs are really strange trees, no mistake! Fairchild has two or three of them (I forget, we haven't been there in nearly a year because of COVID closures, etc, although I understand they have recently relaxed some restrictions for members). Not nearly as huge as many in Africa, of course, but very interesting just the same. If we ever get back over there (I hope so, soon, it's a fave destination) I'll try to photograph one of them. One I recall is pretty substantial.


They have a big collection of Euphorbias, too, in a couple of "desert" plots. My former boss has some interesting ones as well. I might excavate a few images from that library, if nobody would mind their being shot with a different camera mark (you know, the "N" word). One (of many) things I did there was document the garden, so I have a big library of "their" images (I shot 98% of them with the company D80).

[WPRESTO]

Madagascar is, of course, THE place to see baobab trees. We saw examples here and there in Africa. This one was by far the largest, one of those every-tour-bus-detours-to-see things. The sign is in poor shape, but it gives the girth as 15 meters. Single-trunk baobab are really more interesting. The trunk of this specimen looks more akin to some Ficus although without the blade-like overground roots.

[Geodude]

The well-manicured class

[WPRESTO]

On the border of being a scenic rather than a picture of a few trees.

[paulh]

big & little trees

[WPRESTO]

big & little trees

Mother & daughter?