34. Fagaceae

If a person were flustered or in a hurry, they might confuse the Fagaceae family with the Fabaceae. But only if they were flustered or in a hurry. The Fagaceae family includes oaks, chestnuts, chinkapins and beeches -- some of the best known and most admired trees in the world. I for one appreciate the way they can resemble huge pieces of broccoli, as this oak in Greenfield, CA illustrates.

Oak trees, long prized for their beauty and their wood, are represented by the Quercus genus and famous examples of them abound. One of my personal favorites is the cork oak (Quercus suber) the Mediterranean native that brought us cork. I stumbled on the trees below in -- of all places -- a Salinas parking lot, which I rank as a spiritual experience. I'm not sure how appreciated they are there, but I do hope they live long and prosper.

I first encountered tanbark-oaks or tanoaks (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) at Point Reyes National Seashore. Their distinct leaves and acorns caught my eye immediately. They are native to the California coast and range as far north as Oregon. When I learned that they are not actually oaks, I felt something akin to disappointment. But in fact they are closely related, so there was no reason to fret. The important thing is that they live long and prosper.

I grew up around beech trees (Fagus genus) and what makes them a thing of beauty for me is their bark, which has the character of elephant skin. There is also something special about the way they reflect light, especially in the winter, which is when the picture below was taken. This little piece of New York state, every molecule of which I know intimately, has lots of decades-old beeches, both the American (Fagus grandifolia) and European (Fagus sylvatica) species. I do hope they live long and prosper.

 

33. Fabaceae

Also known as the legume or pea family, the Fabaceae is the third largest plant family of all, economically very important, and one of my personal favorites. Just about anything with a bean, a pea, or a pod belongs to this family.

I have encountered many notable species over the years. My Dad grew one of the most notable, a Kentucky yellowwood tree (Cladrastis kentuckea) that lived for decades and reached a considerable height before being removed.  It was only in its afterlife, when the wood was chopped (below), that I fully appreciated its name.

 

Also found on my Dad's property are two kinds of locust tree: black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos). The latter is distinctly memorable due to its long, sharp thorns. All three trees -- yellowwood, black locust and honey locust -- are native to the southeastern U.S. 

A thoroughly striking species that I encountered in Texas is mescalbean, Calia secundiflora, formerly Sophora secundiflora, which I think is a better name. Native to Texas and cultivated as a shrub, I was deeply smitten by the form of its pods and their smooth red beans that sort of resemble Peanut M & M's. Despite the name, this plant has nothing to do with mescaline.

On the west coast I was introduced to equally striking Bauhinia genus, named for the Swiss botanists and sometimes called orchid trees. The decisive encounter occurred at the Fullerton Arboretum. A few years later I noticed native California redbuds (Cercis occidentalis) have a similarly shaped leaf. The decisive encounter in that case occurred in Sequoia National Park. Indeed the trees are related, belonging to the same tribe - the Cercideae tribe. Once I became familiar with redbuds, I discovered that there is an eastern counterpart to the western redbud, appropriately named the eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis). The decisive encounter in that case occurred outside my Mom's church.

Out west I continued to encounter one dazzling leguminous plant after another -- the tropical coral trees (Erythrina genus), more common in southern California; the desert-loving palo verde (Parkinsonia genus), unmistakable with its green bark; the curious pods of the locoweed (Astragalus genus), seen growing on the scruffy edges of range land; the unforgettable carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua), source of edible carob but also making a fine street tree; the lovely silver wattle (Acacia dealbata, below), a wonderful Australian import, the only Australian legume that I can think of. 

 

My initial encounter with the silver wattle occurred at the monarch butterfly preserve near Santa Barbara, but I didn't even know its name. That came years later, after multiple encounters in the Salinas Valley, where this particular specimen resides. 

32. Euphorbiaceae

With the increasing popularity of drought-resistant landscaping, a whole set of new plants are fast becoming the new normal -- in California at any rate. One of these, Mediterranean Spurge (Euphorbia characias, above), I had seen for a very long time throughout the state without knowing the name. Thanks to a recent issue of Sunset magazine, that mystery has been solved for me.

Euphorbia is one of 300 genera comprising the Euphorbiaceae family. Members of this family are found mainly in tropical regions and produce an impressive arsenal of toxins. It was in the Everglades that I learned about the manchineel tree (Hippomane mancinella), the sap of which is so poisonous that the slightest contact will cause one's skin to blister. In the era of the Indians and Spanish explorers, enemies were occasionally tied to manchineel trunks as a form of execution. Another famously poisonous member of the family is castor bean (Ricinus communis), the source of ricin as well as castor oil. These plants have a striking appearance, like marijuana on steroids. They certainly caught my eye when I saw saw them growing haphazardly along roadsides and in vacant lots all over California

Plants from this family produce a number of commercially valuable oils. Castor oil has a variety of uses, most of them industrial, but also curiously medicinal, despite the presence of ricin. The tung tree (Vernicia fordii) from China has also been a source of oil, used as fuel for lamps but also as an ingredient in paints and wood varnishes. At one time harvesting tung trees was an important industry in southeast Louisiana, which is where I made my acquaintance with them. They still grow wild here and there where the plantations used to be, and are unmistakable with their big leaves and nuts (below), the latter of which is the source of the oil.

In a similar way, the nuts of the Caribbean Jatropha curcas plant were long used as a source of lamp oil. More recently that oil has been identified as a clean-burning diesel biofuel. With the shift toward plant-derived biofuels becoming a reality, it is likely that the Euphorbiaceae family will continue to prosper.

31. Escalloniaceae

In contrast to major, sprawling families like Ericaceae are many small ones that, for me, are "one plant families". Such is the case with Escalloniaceae. These natives of the southern hemisphere comprise seven genera, only one of which I have crossed paths with -- Escallonia. So although this family includes over a hundred different species and many varieties, I think of it as a "one plant family".

Escallonia is a shrub that is widely used in California for hedges. Due to its density, it makes a good privacy hedge. But really it is everywhere. It is one of those very common ornamental plants that barely registers in the consciousness of the average person. I was one of those people until the day I learned the identity of this pleasant but unremarkable shrub with pretty pink flowers.

30. Ericaceae

Sometimes called the heath family, the Ericaceae family is large and important, both for food and ornamental use. It is also seemingly everywhere. Blueberries, cranberries and huckleberries are among the well-known edible species; rhododendrons (above), azaleas (below), and Arbutus are among the well-known ornamental species. This is a family that has pursued me on both east and west coasts.

 

I grew up around rhododendrons and azaleas, which are closely related -- they are actually both members of the Rhododendron genus. You cannot argue with their abundant, exuberant nature. These are plants that inform you that the world is a living, colorful, sunny place. My Dad possibly planted more of these on his property than any other shrub. He also planted the more unusual Pieris, commonly known as andromeda, seen below in bloom with pendulous, creamy white flowers.

 

Also possessing pendulous flowers, but otherwise very different, is the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo, below), a very popular Mediterranean import in California. I remember encountering one in Salinas for the first time and being awestruck by the bright red fruits, completely worthy of the name strawberry. The bark is also strikingly red, but in a more brownish-copper sort of way.

 

The Arbutus genus also includes madrone trees, which are native to the New World. The Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii) grows wild in the Los Padres National Forest, where I have seen it with my own eyes. Its relation to the strawberry tree is evident, as is its relation to manzanita (Arctostaphylos genus), one of the most widespread shrubs of the chaparral community. Chaparral plants are adapted to the arid west and survive on very little water. The word "manzanita" is Spanish for "little apple", which as the photo below illustrates, is more or less what the fruits resemble. Aesthetically, I have always been a sucker for manzanita, its smooth reddish bark perfectly contrasting the pastel green shades of its leaves.