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.