tree identification

[iant]

I was wondering if anyone recognized this tree. It's deciduous and there are 3 in a row behind my work. I like them for the flare they have at the base. For a 6 inch trunk the base flares out to almost 12 inches. The bark has a nice roughness as well.
Thanks,
Ian

 

[Smoke]

Looks like a camphor tree.

 

[iant]

Hmmm,
That's a thought. Thanks Al. I may be only used to seeing large ones. You might be right. The large ones in my area do have nice base flares and they have similar bark. Are there camphor bonsai's out there? I don't recall seeing any.

 

[daygan]

Definitely looks like camphor. The red tinge on some of those leaves looks like they're either new leaves or leaves that the tree may be dropping this Spring. They're commonly used as street trees in Shanghai and several of the cities/towns that I've visited in Zhejiang. There are large, mature camphor here in Zhejiang that I see all the time, and I have a very small one that I yanked out of the mud last year and planted in a pot that I hope to make into a decent bonsai one day. They're tropical trees, and seem to withstand the heat really well, and of course are non-deciduous. I have a thread that I started with some pictures of an incredibly large and old camphor tree that I found recently here.

 

[stacy allen muse]

??????????????

 

[iant]

I'll crush a few leaves and smell them on Monday. I've smelled camphor leaves before and it's a pretty distinctive smell. I think it probably is camphor but doesn't look like the others I've seen as its younger. I've only seen the large street trees before.
Ian

 

[daygan]

well.. hmm... maybe not.. but still, maaaybe

Is the tree deciduous?

 

[gergwebber]

aren't camphor's evergreen? or maybe its one of those hardy tropicals that will become deciduous in colder climates.....????

When and how does it flower/fruit? If it is a spring bloomer with show, I would guess a fruit tree that has been bred to have that nice gold foliage (maybe cherry or crab apple)

 

[daygan]

That's what I meant - tropical/evergreen. If it's deciduous, then that would indicate it's not camphor... Or did something that I wrote indicate something that I didn't mean to indicate? Or are you referring to what someone else wrote and not me?

Maybe you're referring to my statement about dropping foliage? Camphors drop a percentage of their old foliage each spring, i've noticed. Who knows, it could be all of their old foliage, but so slowly that I don't notice, because they're also growing new foliage around the same time. You'll see a tree with one or two red leaves here and there that eventually drop to the ground. I think my own camphor sapling lost all of its old leaves this year in slow stages, but I'm not sure because I remember a few old leaves still hanging on after the new leaves had mostly reached a mature size, at which point I just stopped paying attention.

 

[gergwebber]

To clarify: yes, I agree, if it is dropping all of it's leaves, then we are probably not dealing with a camphor. But the poster is in redwood city, within camphor's limits in california,
and its shedding habits are close enough to deciduous trees it is hard to judge...


Lets wait for the smell test.


My point about hardy tropicals is that in regions of California, many micro climates predominate, and you will often get examples of one species of plant that will be deciduous in one region and evergreen in another. Or maybe you get that one in one-hundred years cold night that knocks all the leaves off (but does not kill) things like camphors and citrus and bougainvilleas in an area where they are widely planted....

 

[TheSteve]

daygan,
there are trees that are evergreen in China that will turn deciduous here, depending on the climate. Chinese elms are deciduous here.

This may be where your confusion is coming from

 

[iant]

Ooops, forgot to smell the leaf after work today. I could have sworn they dropped all of their leaves this winter... I'll find out what's up tomorrow and post again.
Ian

 

[iant]

Not a camphor. Crushed the leaf and smelled it and no camphor...
I'm thinking maybe a pear? I don't recall if it was one of the flowering trees this spring.
I'll try to find the groundskeeper here and ask.
Thanks for considering and I'll let you know when I find out. It really does have a great ratio of base width to trunk.
Ian
a few more photos

 

[logan3]

iant, this looks like Xylosma congestum, these are used for landscaping around the area.I picked one (Xylosma congestum compacta)up at a nursery in a gal.pot last year,it's starting to pop new leaves an they look just like the pics you posted the only difference is the bark, but I'm sure that changes with age. Why not take a cutting to your local nursery an ask them? Take care, Pete