| MADRONE... is by far one of my favorite flowering trees native to California. Its (botanical name=Arbutus Menziesi) native to the entire west coast of north america, all the way up to Vancouver, B.C. It's a slow-growing, beautiful tree that produces red, edible berries in the fall which contain seeds that any grower would find hard to sprout and harder to keep alive. Maybe the pain in the ass that growing this tree in cultivation entails is part of what allures me to it so much. That, and the fact that often times the bark of healthy trees becomes bright red and smooth as hell and resembles polished antique furniture (though I would never own polished antique furniture, I would happily take a young madrone tree under my care and hang out with that fucker). But something that's rather disconcerting that I've noticed about a lot of Madrone trees that I see growing naturally on undeveloped land around the bay area is that they look fucking haggard. They got black spots on their leaves and look like they're taking a beating. The black spots are most certainly a fungus and I read an article somewhere once that described the specific fungus (with a taxonomic name) that's been attacking Madrone trees around the area. Which trees are affected is random, it seems. TWo or three might have black-spotted, sagging leaves while one right next to them might be healthy with bright green, strong leaves. The ones you see in the pictures below, save for one of them, are from the foothils of the Sierra Nevada mountains along HWY 174 and are all perfectly healthy. The haggard looking one is from Marin County Somewhere. |
Above: Young Madrone Tree.
ABOVE: THE RESEMBLANCE THAT THIS
GNARLED-ASS TRUNK HAS TO THE ELEMENTS
OF HUMAN ANATOMY (NOT THAT ANATOMY YA
PERVERT) IS BOTH BEAUTIFUL AND TOTALLY
INSPIRING. LOOKS LIKE A KNEE CAP OR MASS
OF ELBOWS.
GNARLED-ASS TRUNK HAS TO THE ELEMENTS
OF HUMAN ANATOMY (NOT THAT ANATOMY YA
PERVERT) IS BOTH BEAUTIFUL AND TOTALLY
INSPIRING. LOOKS LIKE A KNEE CAP OR MASS
OF ELBOWS.
ABOVE: DUDE REALLY STANDS OUT,
NO?
NO?
ABOVE: THOUGH IT RESEMBLES A MADRONE TREE, AND IS
ACTUALY IN THE SAME FAMILY (ERICACEAE - THE HEATH
FAMILY), IT IS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT AND SMALLER-GROWING
SPECIES. THIS IS A YOUNG MANZANITA BUSH. TWEAKERS THAT
WE MET THAT WERE LIVING IN THE WOODS NEARBY
COMPLAINED BITTERLY ABOUT THE STIFF AND SHARP
RESILIENCE OF IT'S BROKEN TWIGS.
ACTUALY IN THE SAME FAMILY (ERICACEAE - THE HEATH
FAMILY), IT IS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT AND SMALLER-GROWING
SPECIES. THIS IS A YOUNG MANZANITA BUSH. TWEAKERS THAT
WE MET THAT WERE LIVING IN THE WOODS NEARBY
COMPLAINED BITTERLY ABOUT THE STIFF AND SHARP
RESILIENCE OF IT'S BROKEN TWIGS.