Plant ID

Trees

Common Name: Bradford Pear

Scientific Name:  Pyrus calleryana

The showy, white flowers appear during spring growth, often before the leaves. In contrast to their appearance, however, the flowers have an unpleasant odor. In autumn the leaves turn bright red to dark red before falling. The Bradford Pear is very disease resistant, making it useful as a street tree. But the relatively short life span (about 25 to 30 years) makes it necessary to replace individuals more frequently than with most other street or screen trees.

IF this is the same tree we talked about during lab, the one that smells really bad yet looks beautiful, then it stands at one of the entrances of my high school. We welcomed everyone to our campus with the worst possible smell ever. Haha. 

Common Name: Sycamore

Scientific Name: Platanus occidentalis

Platanus occidentalis is readily identifiable with broad, maplelike leaves and a trunk and limb complexion of mixed green, tan and cream. Some suggest it looks like camouflage.  It is a member of one of the planet's oldest clan of trees (Platanaceae) and paleobotanists have dated the family to be over 100 million years old.  A long-lived Sycamore tree can reach six hundred years. The deciduous sycamore is fast growing and sun-loving, "growing seventy feet in seventeen years" on a good site.  Very often it divides into two or more trunks near the ground and its massive branches form a wide, irregular

crown.

I like sycamores because they are referenced in a song from the Disney movie Pocahontas, Colors of the Wind J

Common Name: Yoshino Cherry Tree

Scientific Name: Prunus x yedoensis

The tree that made the Macon Cherry Blossom Festival famous. Fragrant, white-pink flowers; oriental branching pattern; glossy bark; dark-green leaves. Likes full sun, well-drained soil. Grows to 40' to 50'.

Common Name: Weeping Willow

Scientific Name: Salix

Beginning around the year 400 BC, people would chew on willow bark to reduce fevers and inflammation. Dutch wooden dance clogs and Gypsy clothes pegs were traditionally made from willow. Fallen willow tree branches will grow into new trees when they are placed in the dirt in any position.

Once again another reference to Pocahontas, grandmother willow tree J

Common Name: Birch

Scientific Name: Betula

It is extremely hardy, and only one or two other species of trees approach so near to the north pole. The wood of the birch, which is light in color, and firm and tough in texture, is used for chairs, tables, bedsteads, and the woodwork of furniture generally, also for fish cases and hoops, and for smoking harns and herrings, as well as for many small articles.

I think these trees look beautiful in the fall when their leaves change color. But then they scare me in the winter when their leaves fall off, especially at night.

Plants

Common Name: Juniper Tree

Scientific Name: Juniperus communis

The juniper bush grows in many gardens, because it is very beautiful and green in summer and wintertime. It activates the digestion, helps the kidneys and clears the lungs for good breathing. Also it kills bacteria, which is good against infections. 

This bush will always hold a special place in my heart because I pushed one of my friends in it freshman year J

Common Name: Mexican Petunia

Scientific Name: Ruellia angustifolia

Mexican petunia is a tough plant that is covered in beautiful purple flowers but be warned; it can spread all over your landscape when you are not looking.  Mexican petunia is already a problem throughout the entire state.  The plants can spread by seed which means that over time it can move large distances.

Common Name: Monkey Grass

Scientific Name: Ophiopogon japonicas

Monkey grass can handle hot conditions better than a lot of shrubs and ground covers can. They are especially easy to grow and maintain on steep slopes where it is hard to maintain any sort of grass.

Common Name: Poison Ivy

Scientific Name: Toxicodendron radicans

It carries an oil on its leaves and in its stems & roots called Urushiol (You-roo-she-all).  It is poisonous in a way such that it inflicts an anaphylactic (allergic) reaction of redness, rashes, itchiness, and sensitivity on all contacted areas in 9 out of 10 people.

I’ve actually never been touched by poison ivy. *knocks on wood*

Common Name: Dogwood

Scientific Name: Cornus

Considered short by tree standards, cornus florida and cornus kousa dogwood trees can reach a height of 20 to 30 feet. The bark of cornus florida resembles rectangles and its leaves turn a reddish-purple color in the fall, while the bark of cornus kousa typically flakes off and its leaves turn reddish.

Fun Nature Picture

I don't know what plant this is but I do know that's my friend Sara! We took this picture last spring in Tatnall.