The tree with the yellow wood

Species name: Cladrastis kentuckea

Common name: American yellowood

Location: Western U Campus, London, Ontario

First of all, I've decided after doing a whole series of blogs about Sandra's garden that I'm going to start being more specific with where I took pictures of the plants I'm featuring in my blog. Featuring GPS coordinates would be silly (especially of rare plants, plus you would all also know where I live since I feature plants in my back yard a lot) and impractical since I don't own a proper GPS unit, but "Ontario" is a bit too vague. So this is the first blog to feature a more detailed location description. Blog evolution!

The yellowwood tree is a spectacular tree to have growing in your garden: it grows quickly but not very tall (the tallest yellowwood in the world is only 27 m tall), has a broad reach with its branches to provide a large patch of shade, and has incredibly attractive flowers during the spring. Unfortunately, it has a few downsides, too. The tree trunk tends to branch repeatedly close to the ground to get a "multi-trunk" type of tree so sometimes pruning is required to get enough space under it to park a lounge chair. Also, when the flowers start to drop it literally looks like it has snowed under the tree. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; it's a lot of organic material going back into the soil to support the soil microbes living in symbioses with the tree's roots. A lot of gardeners think it makes their lawn look messy, and so this tree is sometimes avoided. This is a shame since the seed pods, once they start to develop, are a great oily food source for animals during the fall and into the winter. Since these seeds are a preferred food source, very few of them make it into the ground to produce seedlings. Good if you don't want your lawn to look like a yellowwood nursery, bad if you're a yellowwood tree trying to reproduce. This same phenomenon can't be noted throughout the tree's range, nor is that seen further south; it actually has the potential to become an invasive weedy tree further south than its native range so be careful where you plant one. It is native to the United States as the name suggests, to a relatively small area bordered by North Carolina, Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana and Alabama. Due to habitat loss it is becoming increasingly more rare throughout its native range, so if you live in that area and have the opportunity to plant a yellowwood, do it!

Aside from their obvious aesthetic value due to their flowers, yellowwood trees have traditionally been very valuable species in the woodworking industry. Because of the multi-trunking phenomenon they can't be used to produce many 2x4s, but they have been highly prized amongst furniture makers for their yellow heartwood to use for inlays and sometimes veneers. Wood turners have also valued yellowwood for its ease of carving yet very dense wood. Some of the most famous guns in American history also have their gunstocks made from yellowwood, although many other species of tree were favoured for this purpose.

Sandra's Garden: non-Canadian Canada Redbud

Species name: Cercis canadensis

Common name: Canada redbud

Location: Sandra's garden

Canada redbud is, contrary to the Latin name and the common name, not really all that native to Canada. As an aside, neither is Canada thistle...

The native range of Canada redbud extends from a negligible amount in Southern Ontario south to Florida and Mexico, west to Texas and Oklahoma, and east all the way to the coastline and up to New England. The native range map of this species barely registers a blip in Canada, and yet we plant it here in large numbers as an ornamental species. It will never do as well here as what it does in Kentucky and Tennessee (do they call it American redbud there, I wonder?), but it does well enough to still be spectacular in the spring. The flowers form directly off the largest stems and branches of the tree (sometimes only being big enough to qualify as a shrub) in huge numbers, and almost all of them will develop into pods of seeds that look a bit like brown snow peas. The leaves are a bright green and a heart-shaped.

This was surprising to me, but Canada redbud seeds and pods are actually edible, and have been eaten by native North Americans for centuries. The unripe immature green pods can be eaten raw, and the ripe seeds of brown pods can be roasted and turned into a coffee-like beverage (without the caffeine, and probably without the tasty flavour) or eaten. The flowers were also eaten either raw or boiled. I can't imagine either of these being all that tasty, but I guess when you have nothing else to eat you'll eat anything that won't make you sick! The toxicity of raw Canada redbud plant organs has never been tested, so I don't recommend anyone tries eating the pods or flowers raw. But give some roasted seeds a try if you're feeling adventurous and let me know what you think. The twigs themselves have also been used as a flavouring; the young green twigs would be rubbed against and skewered into venison or buffalo steaks before cooking to give them a somewhat spicy flavour (and hence the other common name for this plant, spicebush; use this name with caution since it is applied more commonly to another species).

Other than the obvious ornamental use, this plant isn't really used for much else. The trees never really grow large enough to produce lumber, and the overall shape of the plant (the main stem is rather short and it forks very early in growth; the best lumber trees are very tall, very straight unbranching trees) makes it impractical for anything other than making veneer; even at that, the grain isn't all that attractive so other species are more preferred. The tree can tolerate everything from full sun to full shade (but does best in full sun to partial shade). They also provide a great nectar source for native bees, butterflies, and some birds!

It wouldn't be a good story if that was the whole story

Species name: Delonix regia

Common name: flamboyant tree, Royal Poinciana tree, flame tree (but not the true flame tree)

Location: Dominican Republic

Unfortunately, when my mom and I were in the Dominican we just happened to miss the best time of the year to view these trees in the Caribbean. I've included a picture at the bottom of this blog post to show what the tree would look like in full bloom, if we happened to see in sometime between May and September (although, it blooms at different times of the year in different countries). The flamboyant tree is native to Madagascar, where is is near-endangered. The last IUCN Red List had this species listed as endangered, but since then there have been concerted conservation efforts in the wild to not only protect this species but also to aid in the tree's reproduction and repopulation. These efforts have been mostly successful, but there is still "seed poaching" that occurs in the wild to supplement the ornamental tree trade. If you do buy this plant as an ornamental species (its flowers make it a very popular ornamental species), make sure you know the source of the plant and that it's not from wild seeds. Once introduced to an area in the tropics or sub-tropics it reproduces easily if the appropriate conditions are met, and can survive well in the wild as well. It is said to be naturalized in many countries in mainland Africa as well as throughout the Caribbean and in Asia. It isn't reported to be invasive in any of these areas, but even a slight shift in climate could lead to population explosion and it out-competing its neighbours. There's a fine line between a naturalized species and an invasive one!

The flamboyant tree produces brilliant orange, red and yellow flowers (depending on subspecies and cultivar or variety) before the leaves are produced. Once the flowers start to wither and fall off the tree, it invests all of its energy into producing the characteristic leaves of trees in the bean/pea family (or the Fabaceae): twice pinnately compound feather- or fern-like leaves (which can also be seen in the Kentucky coffeetree which you can read all about HERE). I traced one of the leaves of this tree in red so you can see just how large one leaf really is. When I was in the Dominican, this tree was in the process of shedding its leaves for the rest of the dry season, and it would regrow them in about May or June during the rainy season. Since it is salt- and drought-tolerant, it makes for the ideal Caribbean tree.

Fortunately for my blog, this isn't just an exciting tree because of its flamboyant flowers (which you can't even see! A let-down). This is what botanists call an exciting "specimen tree." A specimen tree is a tree that is unique and exciting on its own, regardless of what the rest of the species does. For one, this tree is enormous. Normally flamboyant trees reach a maximum height of 12 meters but normally they grow to about 5 meters. This tree has got to be about 10 meters tall; it's just as tall, if not taller, than the 3-storey building behind it. But that's not the only thing that makes it exciting. It's a perfect example of a micro-habitat. Hard to believe that a tree could be an example of a micro-habitat, but I invite you to walk around to the other side of the tree and tell me what you see.

The other side of the tree

Do you see what I see? It's a bit more obvious now, but that sure looks like a giant woody root running down the trunk of a tree. Could that possibly be a root?! Well, let's zoom in near the base of the tree and find out...

The base of the tree

Yep, that's definitely a root. So what the heck is growing off of that tree, and where is it coming from?! Roots grow in the ground, not out of leaves and down trunks!

The split in the trunk of the tree

Well look at that. There's actually another plant growing out of the trunk of the tree, where the main trunk splits into two. There would be just enough space in there that the rain would accumulate some sand and dirt that the wind blows on the branches of the tree, plus the falling tiny leaflets of the leaves in the spring, that if a seed happened to fall into that space it could germinate and grow for a while. Now, this plant didn't just grow for "a while"; it has actually been incredibly successful. But is that the whole story to this tree?

Wouldn't be a good story if that was the whole story!

Actually, there isn't just one plant growing in that tiny space. There are actually three different species (shown by the red arrows). The first is the one that's the lowest down, which sure looks like some kind of amaryllis or spider lily to me. Keep in mind that the first photo is as close as I could get to this tree, and I certainly wasn't about to climb it to get a good look even if I could get closer. So we'll just go with "unidentified lily-like monocot" for now unless someone else has a better guess for me! The second, marked by the upper arrow on the right hand side is also an "unidentified monocot", but I actually think I know what this one might be. I have a pretty strong suspicion it's a false bird of paradise (which you can read all about HERE) because of the arrangement of the leaves. Unfortunately for these two species, neither of them is going to survive long given the amount of space they have. Both of these species grow from either a bulb or a swollen underground stem called a rhizome; without a vast supply of nutrients from which to sustain their underground storage organs, the above-ground green parts can't survive. The top red arrow, however, points to a plant named the umbrella plant, named for its umbrella-like leaves. The species name of this plant is Schefflera arboricola, and is a very popular ornamental plant native to Taiwan. It thrives in tropical conditions, and can survive in very nutrient-poor soil. It also grows roots incredibly quickly (mainly due to the fact that they need to seek out what few nutrients there are in the soil), which is the contributing factor to the death of most umbrella tree houseplants (most of them become root-bound and the roots suffocate themselves in the pot). Thankfully for this species and its fast-growing roots, it can "escape" the death-trap that it found itself in (like the false birds of paradise and that lily-like plant) and anchor itself in the soil at the base of the tree.  The pink arrow indicates where the roots wrap around the branch and connect to the stem of the plant, showing that it really is all one plant. Eventually, if left to its own devices, the flamboyant tree will die and decay long before the umbrella tree. What will be left will be a giant hole in the middle of the umbrella tree where the flamboyant tree used to be, and it will look like it's standing on stilts. Fantastic! This creation of micro-habitats in the main branching points of trees in tropical forests is actually incredibly common; if you walk through a tropical jungle you'll notice a lot of "trees on stilts" where exactly this phenomenon happened over and over. If you manage to be the first plant that out-competes its neighbours for resources and hits the ground first, it's a fantastic place to be to avoid predators that want to munch on your bright green nutrient-filled leaves. They would have to be incredibly determined to climb a big tree to eat a seedling! There are far more of them on the forest floor that would make a better dinner.

The flamboyant tree in full bloom (courtesy of Wikipedia).

Magical Tamarind

Species name: Tamarindus indica

Common name: tamarind

Location: Dominican Republic

Tamarind is a tree species in the pea or bean family that is native not to India but tropical Africa, and used around the world as a flavouring, a food, and a plant-based dye. There are actually many plant species used as "tamarind" flavouring, so if you want an authentic flavour to your food you need to make sure you get the right species! When ground, it's nearly impossible to tell real tamarind from the fake stuff, so always buy it unground to make sure you're getting what you're supposed to get.

Because the tamarind is part of the bean family, it does produce a pod that is the fruit of the tree, and the fruit is what is consumed. The very tough outer covering must be removed, revealing the reddish-brown squishy insides of the fruit. This can be mashed into a paste, and used in cooking. Depending on if the fruit is ripe or not the flesh on the inside has very different tastes: unripe fruit are very, very sour and used as pickling agents, and ripe fruits are much sweeter and used for flavouring main dishes and even desserts. Tamarind fruits are very, very good for you. They have very high levels of calcium in the ripened flesh, as well as surprisingly high amounts of various B vitamins. Both of these are unusual to find in fruits! My favourite use of tamarind is in a beverage; there is a typical Nicaraguan drink made out of chia seeds, lemon juice and tamarind juice that is this really odd brown colour and has slimy seeds floating in it. Sounds gross, looks less than appealing, but MAN is it ever good. I've tried re-creating it once but can't quite get the proportions right. I need a Nicaraguan friend to teach me how to make it!

Tamarind wood is also some of the most beautiful wood in fine furniture and other decorative products, with the heartwood (or the "old wood" on the inside of the tree) being a bright red without a stain. The sapwood is a reddish yellow, and stains much darker red when a "mahogany" stain is added. This wood is sometimes marketed as mahogany wood outside of Latin America and tropical Asia and Africa, but there is one major difference between tamarind wood and true mahogany: strength. The strength of mahogany trees is tremendous (and a "mahogany tree" doesn't really exist; like with tamarind, many species would be what we would call "real mahogany"), while tamarind trees are a bit wussy. If wood was needed for extreme strength like a bed frame to hold up a North American-style bed, this would not be your wood of choice. If all you're making is a decorative art piece and want dark red wood, this would be the wood for you! It looks amazing in jewelry boxes. While it can't withstand extreme weight, it is very durable and very dense wood so would be perfect for other furniture like tables and chairs. The ground fruit can also be used for another purpose in home decoration: it can be used to remove the tarnish on brass, copper and silver. Grind up some of the flesh of the fruit, apply to a rag and rub. When the patina or the tarnish is removed, rinse with water and you're done!

The medicinal uses of tamarind are long and also depend on the country that uses it. In Nigeria it is used to treat stomach disorders, in Indonesia and Malaysia it is used to treat malaria, in other countries in southeast Asia it is used to treat fever, and in India it is used to treat cardiovascular problems and digestive problems. Again, traditional Indian medicine (Ayurveda) is onto something with this plant; excessive consumption of this plant will lead you to notice its primary medicinal value: it is a very potent laxative. There are other claims that tamarind can delay the onset of the most severe symptoms of osteoporosis because it contains so much calcium, as well as claims it can reduce circulating levels of cholesterol. Neither of these have been shown to be true in human studies, but if you have a pet rat that you don't want to die of low bone density you could try feeding it some tamarind paste in its regular diet, and if you have a chicken you're especially fond of that doesn't watch what it eats, you could give it some tamarind paste to reduce circulating levels of cholesterol. Don't expect this effect to be translated into eggs; the yolks of eggs laid by chickens whose diets have been supplemented with tamarind contain no less cholesterol than those that haven't been fed a supplemented diet. Too bad.