[ID] tree.

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I have had this tree for about 3 years. Collected it as a seedling in a yard I was renting. It is not Ficus,no leaf sheaths. But it back buds well and has attractive lanceolate glossy leaves.I cannot find another example of it anywhere here.You can just see that the bark has a distinctive patterning as well.Hope it rings a bell for someone.

Alright I apologize. Those photos are useless thumbnails. I misunderstood something I shall try again
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Hello Geo - there is not a lot to go on from these photos.  Did you collect the tree in Baja?  Do the leaves have a strong smell when crushed?  Do they have translucent glands on them?  Are the leaves hard in texture or soft and pliable?  Is the tip of the leaf hard and almost needle-like?  Sorry for all the questions, but they may help lead to an identification.

David B.

Hello David:
I appreciate very much that you took the time to ask the questions.Here are the answers:
Yes.I collected this tree as a seedling in my garden in Todos Santos,Baja Sur.
The leaf has no discernible odor when crushed.
The leaves have very short petioles with glands at the base.
When folded the leaf will almost snap cleanly in half.
The new leaves are no different than the mature ones.
Also,before i pruned the tree last time I noticed very small stalks growing from some stems with very tiny rounded protuberances at the end. There was no development there,so I pruned.The tree is a very fast grower and back buds everywhere,including on old wood.
As to the pictures.To make a sob story short,this POS laptop has decided not to accept my camera SD card without reformatting it.Windows7 then informs me that the reformat failed. So,sorry about the photos.They were all I had on disc before the disaster.I wouldn't be so keen,but I am very fond of this tree.There is no question about it being great material.
Regards,
George.

George – I understand the “sob story” regarding your laptop.  Sorry.  But you do live in a very beautiful place so my sorrow is somewhat truncated – I spent many happy weeks crawling about collecting plant specimens from your area as a youth (oh so many decades ago…) I remember with great pleasure climbing up the Sierra de la Laguna in search of new species so many years ago, and indeed we did find a few.

I regret that your responses to my questions lead my mind further astray rather than closer.  The stipular scars at the base of the petiole are triggering ideas, but I will have to ponder more.  Do you think that this tree is a native or a horticultural introduction?  Is there any way that you can show the glands at the base of the petiole?  That could prove helpful.

I wish I could deliver an identity straightaway – but sometimes a mystery is nice!  Thank you for triggering good memories at least!
David B.

David:
I was pleasantly surprised to hear that you know my area and have even collected in the Sierra de la Laguna mountains.That was pretty adventurous of you back then.The roads are barely adequate now.Still 4X4 territory.What did you find up there if I may ask?I'm slated to go on a drive up there soon with a friend who has the right wheels.Just waiting for the heat to break.
As to my mystery tree (his name is "Senor"):seeing as everywhere around here is 'xeric scrub' and only misses being classified as a desert because of the summer rains (and occasional hurricanes) and the aquifers around Todos Santos, I cannot see the tree as being a native. It could be another story in the mountains where there is a coniferous forest area and oaks as well.
I am trying to figure out the photo thing.I am going to have to take the camera to an internet cafe and load the photos onto a zip drive.Maybe then the bloody machine will allow me to post more pictures. I shall try to take new ones,including the petiole bases if I have a good enough zoom.Anyway,best wishes.Hope the drought is not affecting your part of California too much.

geo wrote:I shall try to take new ones,including the petiole bases if I have a good enough zoom.

if your camera has a macro setting, that would be better than zooooom...
macro is usually designated by a flower symbol and usually allows some pretty tight close-ups...
biggest trick is holding the shutter button down at "half-cock" so the camera has a moment to "think" and focus before fully depressing it.

(sorry if that is stuff you already knew)

Thanks. It does have the flower icon for macro,but I have found it hard to use.I will try your suggestion.

beer city snake wrote:
if your camera has a macro setting, that would be better than zooooom...
macro is usually designated by a flower symbol and usually allows some pretty tight close-ups...
biggest trick is holding the shutter button down at "half-cock" so the camera has a moment to "think" and focus before fully depressing it.

(sorry if that is stuff you already knew)

But by the same token, don't go off half-cocked!
Ever heard of bonsai clubs doing plant photography classes/seminars? I think that would be interesting.

Hello again George – Your post makes me miss Baja just so much more!  So many pleasant memories!  I have neighbors here in Sonoma County, California, that spend only the summers here, then they flee to Baja for the winter; Bahia Todos Santos if I recall correctly (A place about which I have many pleasant adolescent memories…), because they think the winters here are dreary – I disagree, our winters are just rainy, which I love (or have loved – as winter rains have been Spartan of late (no offense to any folks from Greece!))  

Anyway: I am delighted to meet “El Senor” “Que se viva!” “Que se crece!”, and I am also delighted to be taken on memory’s lane – indeed the roads up Sierra de la Laguna were frightful and may still be, that is why we walked, but they were also fruitful.  You ask “what did I find”.  Well first please understand that this was many decades ago and I was part of a group of botanists, so I should make no statement about “what did I find…”  Anything found was by “we”.  To accurately answer your question I would need to delve back into the botanical literature to be accurate, and sorry my energy nor my memory are willing to delve to that extent.  I do recall a least an Agave of notice, several Salvia, and I seem to recall an Echeveria (or perhaps a Dudleya).   I think there was also a Bursera that was of interest, but later investigation showed it to be a population of no taxonomic significance.  But now I am starting to devolve into the speak of field-botanists, and I have not been a certifiable one of them for as almost as many decades as those that have transpired since my visiting your neighborhood.  

All this having been said – in order to correctly identify “El Senor” I, and others, will need a bit more.  You live in an area where many species might grow (if irrigated).  Any more detailed images of this plants leaves and/or flowers would be quite useful.  Secretly I was hoping that you had one of the more tropical-looking Baja natives in “captivation”, but you have convinced me otherwise now.

Precarious wrote:Ever heard of bonsai clubs doing plant photography classes/seminars?  I think that would be interesting.

i dont want to veer off topic any further, but i believe that our newest member, Sam O. has done exactly that for his local club...

Hello David:
I believe the mystery is finally solved. Turns out that 'Senor' is a native after all, Vellisia glabra or possibly laciniata: the latter is endemic from Comondu to the Cape Region.
Cheers,
George.

That's great George - I'm glad the mystery is solved. Vallesia glabra is a wonderful plant. I have seen it grown in several botanical gardens, and it does well in cultivation. The flowers are nicely fragrant and the translucent white berries are attractive - it is sometimes called pearlberry. I have never seen it grown as bonsai, so let us know how you fare with it.

I will,David.And thanks.