The Rosaceae or rose family includes so many familiar and economically important species it is ridiculous. Where to begin? With roses I guess, which is the genus Rosa (a fine example of which is seen below). Then comes a supermarket full of familiar foods: apples (Malus), pears (Pyrus), raspberries (Rubus), strawberries (Fragaria), and of course the amazing Prunus genus, which includes peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, cherries, and almonds. Have I forgotten anything? Probably.
Quince, Cydonia oblonga, also has numerous culinary uses. Its origin is in the Middle East, where it has a very ancient history of cultivation that may have predated the apple. What has been translated to "apple" in some ancient texts may actually be a reference to quince, which resembles a hard, fuzzy apple.
The Amelanchier genus includes trees that go by such interesting names as shadblow, shadbush and serviceberry. These North American natives are used both ornamentally and for their berries, which are eaten raw as well as in jams and pies.
Moving onto more obscure species, there's the chaparral shrub chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) that, when in flower, produces an insane amount of pollen. While working at parks that included this shrub I recall getting the pollen all over my clothes and even down my shirt via my neck. Fortunately I didn't have any allergic reactions!
Then there is Photinia, a fairly common landscaping shrub throughout California. Photinia is showy both for its red leaves and its abundance of dense corymbs when in flower. I can't say this is my favorite plant, but I like that they are easy to identify.
Perhaps the most delightfully obscure member of the rose family I know is Lyontree, Lyonothamnus floribundus, also known as Catalina Ironwood or Santa Cruz Ironwood. A true California native, endemic to the Channel Islands, Lyontree is increasingly being used on the mainland for landscaping. They are easy to spot with their peeling red bark and distinctive, toothed leaves that look almost like caricatures of marijuana leaves. For years I wondered what these were. It's great that this rare, native tree is getting more play.
I like encountering the more obscure members of this approximtely 2800 species-large family. Are loquats obscure? There are tons of them around here -- Eriobotrya japonica not surprisingly comes from Asia, but are now commonplace in California. Also called Japanese plum, to me they taste a little like apricots. It's a pleasant flavor that also works well in jams, jellies, pastries, pies and gelato, to name a few applications.
Quince, Cydonia oblonga, also has numerous culinary uses. Its origin is in the Middle East, where it has a very ancient history of cultivation that may have predated the apple. What has been translated to "apple" in some ancient texts may actually be a reference to quince, which resembles a hard, fuzzy apple.
The Amelanchier genus includes trees that go by such interesting names as shadblow, shadbush and serviceberry. These North American natives are used both ornamentally and for their berries, which are eaten raw as well as in jams and pies.
Moving onto more obscure species, there's the chaparral shrub chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) that, when in flower, produces an insane amount of pollen. While working at parks that included this shrub I recall getting the pollen all over my clothes and even down my shirt via my neck. Fortunately I didn't have any allergic reactions!
Then there is Photinia, a fairly common landscaping shrub throughout California. Photinia is showy both for its red leaves and its abundance of dense corymbs when in flower. I can't say this is my favorite plant, but I like that they are easy to identify.
Perhaps the most delightfully obscure member of the rose family I know is Lyontree, Lyonothamnus floribundus, also known as Catalina Ironwood or Santa Cruz Ironwood. A true California native, endemic to the Channel Islands, Lyontree is increasingly being used on the mainland for landscaping. They are easy to spot with their peeling red bark and distinctive, toothed leaves that look almost like caricatures of marijuana leaves. For years I wondered what these were. It's great that this rare, native tree is getting more play.
No comments:
Post a Comment