A- Maps for Tree Walks

You will find tree walks that either I have made or others have made showing great examples of our trees in Santa Cruz County.

Aptos:
Rio Del Mar Flats- 30 trees.

Capitola:
Depot Hill - 45 or so trees.

Santa Cruz:
Trees of Mission Plaza.

DOWNTOWN SIGNIFICANT TREE WALK - From the City Arborist.

EVERGREEN TREE WALK - From the City Arborist.

Plant Groups:
Native Trees found in the Central County.

A-Trees of Mission Plaza

There is a great assortment of trees in the plaza as well as the street surrounding the square. I have numbered the trees in the picture and each plant is named below. Those with a blog entry can be linked to pictures and descriptions.

I tried to make it a circular walk but its easier said than done.

1. Pinus canariensis - Canary Island Pine (a row of 5-6 trees along Mission St)
2. Schinus molle - California Peppertree (5 trees at both sides of the entry)
3. Calocedrus decurrens - California Incense Cedar (young tree)
4. Eriobotrya deflexa - Bronze Locust (2 or 3 younger trees in front of HC School)
5. Cornus florida 'Welchii' - Variegated Flowering Dogwood)
6. Azara serrata - Sawtooth Azara (further down the side of the HC school)
7. Trachycarpus fortunei - Chinese Windmill Palm
8. Magnolia grandiflora - Southern Magnolia (one of two on either side of park)
9. Tilia americana - American Linden (maybe a different species of linden)
10. Platanus acerifolia - London Plane Tree (3 large trees in center of park)
11. Juniperus (not sure what species it is)
12. Syagrus romanzoffiana - Queen Palm (in court yard of the mission)
13. Cryptomeria japonica - Japanese Cryptomeria (Pine)
14. Araucaria bidwillii - Bunya-bunya Tree
15. Callistemon viminalis - Weeping Bottlebrush (2 trees)
16. Metrosideros excelsa - New Zealand Christmas Tree
17. Picea abies - Norway Spruce
18. Chionanthus retusus - Chinese Fringe Tree (at the corner of the building)
19. Sapium sebiferum - Chinese Tallow tree (Triadica sebifera is its new name)
20. Pinus radiata - Monterey Pine
21. Cedrus deodara Deodar Cedar - Deodar Cedar (on the corner)
22. Maytenus boaria - Mayten Tree
23. Azara microphylla - Box-leaf Azara (3 in front of house)
24. Phoenix canariensis - Canary Island Palm
25. Nyssa sylvatica - Black Tupelo (Gum)
26. Metasequooia glyptostroboides - Dawn Redwood
27. Phoenix dactylifera - Date Palm
28. Eucalyptus ficifolia (Corymbia filcifolia) - Red Gum (Eucalyptus is the old name) this is a pink one.
29. Tilia cordata (small tree) - Little Leaf Linden (bigger ones up Mission St.)
30. Aesculus x carnea - Red Horse Chestnut
31. Washingtonia robusta - Mexican Fan Palm (on Mission St.)

Additional trees not on the list:

Olea europaea - Olive tree in the mission courtyard
Acer palmatum - Japanese Maples by the church entrance
Lagerstroemia - Crape Myrtle by the church doors

Cornus capitata - Evergreen Dogwood

The very first evergreen dogwood I encountered was the amazing specimen at Suncrest nursery. Totally blown away. Its covered with slightly off white flowers in June and followed by large red fruit in fall. I have to admit I was spoiled by flowering and kousa dogwoods when living in the pacific northwest and didn't think this tree could compete. Well, it exceeds the flowering dogwood for sure, and in my mind is equal to kousa.

The plants start our fairly narrow but widen with age (sounds familiar), eventually forming a nice oval to rounded canopy. Growing to about 20-25' in our area. Most are multi-stemmed with the main laterals starting pretty low on the tree. Canopy is generally quite dense.

Leaves are opposite, simple, 2-4" long, narrowly elliptical and entire margins. The margins on many plants are curled upward making the leaves look narrower than they really are. Veins on dogwoods are pinnate but they look as though they curve to the tips of the leaves. They have a leathery look and feel.

Stems are thin, generally green but can be red on the top of the branch.

Bark is smooth for years, eventually developing some fissures.

Flowers are typical for dogwoods. Again, the showy bits are bracts. They are white to yellowish white in color, four in number with pointed ends. They look more like C. kousa than C. florida. (In fact the whole tree looks more like the Kousa dogwood than any other dogwood.)

The real flowers are small, light green in rounded clusters within the bracts. The bracts are usually mistaken for petals.

The fruit is a large fleshy berry. They look like a strawberry (hence one of the common names Himalayan Strawberry Tree)

Misidentification: Other dogwoods most likely. Especially in bloom but not in the winter.  Leaves are narrower than C. florida.

Location:
Aptos
Corner of Clubhouse Dr. and Murry Ave.

Photinia serratifolia - Chinese Photinia

The chinese photinia is a small evergreen tree with beautiful flowers. Grows to less than 25' with a nice compact dense rounded habit. Not to be confused with the red photinia. Gets a lot of bad press as an invasive in the south. The few that I have seen around here all look very nice year round.

Foliage is alternate, simple, obovate to oblong with very finely serrated margins and leathery in texture, as well as shiny.  

In the early spring you will find some leaves turning red, ahhh fall color.

New foliage in the spring is very much lighter green.

Flower clusters are large, maybe 8" across and can cover the entire plant. Individual flowers are small, white with 5 petals.

Stems thinnish, green with red tinges, eventually turning brown.

Misidentification

Other photinias, especially P. x fraserii, early spring they have very red new leaves.

Location

Aptos

433 Ewell Ave as seen in the picture at the top

5489 Soquel Drive a pair flanking the driveways of the duplex

Pinus patula - Mexican Weeping Pine

There was a quote about a pettable tree earlier but this one is beyond pettable. The Mexican Weeping Pine tree is so soft when young it is one you just want to have in your yard so you can rub up against it. I cant remember the first one I saw, may have been this one below at Kew Gardens but I fell in love with them and still feel the same.

Most commonly seen in our area as a small to medium evergreen tree with a rounded crown, growing to maybe 35' by 30 wide. Primary lateral branches are low and tend to be ascending with the secondary and smaller being weepy. 

The oldest/largest one I have encountered can be seen from Green Valley Road just east of the Kralj Dr. intersection. (Hard to photograph).  This one below (actually 2 in the picture) is over the hill.

Leaves are in clusters of 3-4 (5) long 6-9", and slender, light green to yellowish green. They tend to be in two rows on either side of the stem which arches slightly at the tip. Lasting only 2-3 years on the stems. Stems have a whitish bloom when young.

Medium aged trunks are beautiful. Reddish brown with some yellow, slightly flaking off in bits. 

Cones are a yellowish-chestnut brown color, 2-4" long, elongated egg-shaped with a short stalk holding on the stem. Growing in clusters, rarely alone. Scale tips are pretty smooth without a distinct raised area or prickle.

Misidentification
Any other weeping pine. Look for 3-4 needles, a reddish bark and smaller cones. Many other weeping pines are white pines with 5 needles.

Location
Watsonville, Not exactly sure where its home is, only looked at it from Green Valley but it looks like it could be in the back of the Trinity School on Lawrence or just in a vacant lot along Kralj.

Capitola
502 El Salto Ave. not in great shape but large.

Santa Cruz (Pleasure Point)
339 Anchorage is a nice larger one

Aptos
386 Baltusrol Dr.

Pinus wallichiana - Himalayan Pine

I love weeping pine trees, especially large ones. I first saw a few of these in Spokane and then encountered lots in the UK. And, lucky for me I see this one everyday driving home. Its not really as weepy as you might think but the leaves are very droopy on the stems. Works for me. You might actually find the cultivar 'Zebrina' which is variegated and more popular though I have not seen one planted as of yet.

"If any tree could be described as pettable, it would have to be the Himalayan pine" Nancy Rose (arnold arboretum)

The Himalayan (white or blue) pine is medium sized pine growing to about 35-40' with a spread of about 25' (much larger in its native habitat). This one is growing next to a larger acacia.

Leaves are needle like, in clusters of 5, each about 8" long. Thin, and eventually pendulous on the stems. Sheath is deciduous as is true of most white pines.

Male reproductive structures on lower stems.

Cones are typical of white pines, 6-8"  long however they may get to 12" long. Light tan when mature. While they are growing they are long and slender and green.

In the picture above you can see open mature cones and to the left you can see next years cone.

Misidentification
Other 5 needle pines, especially white pines. But we dont have many white pines here, lucky you. Can't say I have seen any western white pines and only a few eastern white pines.

Pinus patula maybe. Cones are much smaller, the leaves are in 3's and even more pettable (weeping).

Location
Aptos
311 Clubhouse Drive

Acacia cognatum - River Wattle

The first time I came across this beautiful tree I was blown away with its soft texture and form. I have grown to like it more and more over time, however like many acacias it might not be long lived. The river wattle is fast-growing, lacy, smallish evergreen tree, 20-30' tall by 20-30' wide. Very attractive graceful tree or shrub with weeping branches.

Leaves evergreen, linear shaped, sort of curved (sickle-shaped), 1 1/2" long, less than an 1/8" wide. Light green color. Leaves are really phyllodes (modified petioles), take a look at the veination pattern which is typical of most all these acacias. (The leaves are really modified petioles like many of the acacias and technically called phyllodes.)

Small light yellow flowers appear clusters in pairs along the stems in spring.

Small thin pods, look like brown versions of the leaves with small constrictions around the few seeds inside. Have not seen them.

Thin wispy stems, light brown with very small green to brown rounded buds.

Misidentification:
Acacia boormanii maybe, which is not really soft and weepy but more upright, and shorter leaves. You can see both side by side at 3536 Flora Drive.

Location: 

Capitola
Depot Hill, corner of Central and Escalona. You can see if from Monterey Ave intersection leading into Depot Hill.