39. Lythraceae

It's hard to argue with the Lythraceae family, probably best-known for crape myrtle trees, which constitute the Lagerstromia genus. Crape myrtles have many interesting features -- they are from India, they have beautiful, smooth, multi-colored bark, and they remain in flower for much of the year. The most prevalent species in America is Lagerstromia indica, introduced in the late 18th century by French botanist Andre Michaux. The genus itself is named for Swedish merchant Magnus von Lagerstrom. The indica species does well in dry, Mediterranean climates such as California. The specimens above, photographed in a small, dusty Salinas Valley town, are probably indica. Another species, speciosa, is better suited to subtropical climates such as the Gulf Coast and Hawaii.

Lythraceae is a relatively small family. Other well known members are henna, Lawsonia inermis, and pomegranate, Punica granatum. Pomegranate used to belong to the separate Punicaceae family, but that family was determined to be a subfamily of the Lythraceae, and so was incorporated into it.

38. Lauraceae

This is another large family that includes pleasant smelling and pleasant tasting plants. The stars of its portfolio are avocados, Persea americana, and cinnamon, Cinnamomum verum. Avocados! Cinnamon! Who can argue with that? I can't.

Cinnamomum verum translates as "true cinnamon", since the bark of the tree is the traditional source of the spice in its native Sri Lanka. Other members of this genus, however, are also used to produce cinnamon.

Two slightly less famous species that have crossed my path over the years are the camphor tree, Cinnamomum camphora, and sassafras. The first is a Chinese relative of cinnamon that is both the primary source of the substance camphor as well as a common landscaping tree in California. It was explained to me that if you crush the leaves of a camphor tree with your fingers, you get a whiff of its strong, minty aroma. Sassafras albidum is native to the eastern U.S. and was pointed out to me once by my mother. Parts of this tree were used in the original production of root beer and are the source of its distinctive flavor. Unfortunately the FDA discovered that this same substance that provided the flavor -- safrole -- is a potential carcinogen, and so was banned in 1960. Fortunately the flavor is easily enough reproduced using either other plant-based or artificial ingredients.

37. Lamiaceae

It's hard to argue with the mint family, Lamiaceae, which has brought us a smorgasbord of delightfully fragrant herbs, including spearmint, peppermint, basil, lavender, oregano, sage, rosemary, and thyme (but not parsley). The extent to how much this family has worked its way into our everyday lives is astonishing.

This is a good sized family with more than 230 genera and 7000 species. Apparently it is closely related to the verbena family, Verbenaceae, which is also known for its aromatic members, many of which are now considered part of the mint family.

I must admit that the more I look into this family, the more overwhelming I find it. I will mention a couple of species I've encountered over the years. Marrubium vulgare, commonly known as horehound,  is native to the Old World and considered a weed in California. Since Roman times it has been used by herbalists as a respiratory remedy. Callicarpa americana, pictured above, is native to the southeast U.S. and also known as American beautyberry. It was brought to my attention by my associate in Louisiana. Apparently the berries can be eaten, whereas other parts of the plant make an effective mosquito repellent.

36. Juglandaceae

The walnut family is comprised of about a dozen genera and a hundred different species. The best known genus is Juglans, the twenty-one species of which are native to almost every continent and are famous for producing walnuts. The most familiar and commercially important of these are Juglans regia, also known as Persian or English walnut, and Juglans nigra, also known as eastern black walnut. Both are prized for their nuts and their wood.

Walnuts are good food and a big industry in California. Walnut husk flies, on the other hand, are a serious problem when they deposit their eggs into the green, golf ball-sized orbs, turning them into mushy black blobs.

The other important genus in this family is Carya, which includes hickories and pecans. Actually pecans are a species of hickory, Carya illinoinensis. I remember my Dad pointing out hickories while walking around Shelter Island. I also remember my brother pointing out pecan trees while walking around Texas. Who among us has not enjoyed a piece of pecan pie?

35. Gingkoaceae

I was in the tea house at the Chinese Garden in Portland recently and read on the menu that gingko is the oldest tree. That made me pause, since I had always heard that bristlecone pine was the oldest tree. It turns out it depends on what you mean. Certain specimens of bristlecone pine are the oldest "non-clonal" individual trees. Gingko biloba on the other hand is the longest surviving species, tracing its origins back some 270 million years. It is the only surviving member of the Gingkoaceae family, and as such is considered a living fossil.

The unique fishtail shape of the gingko leaf is a sure sign that we are not dealing with any ordinary tree, but one with a rich heritage. Fossils of similarly shapes leaves date back to the Mesozoic Era. Gingko biloba is native to China, where for centuries it has been cultivated for food and medicine as well as for its beauty. Food? The nuts are actually prized in both Chinese and Japanese cooking. Medicinally, herbal extracts are best known for promoting memory and concentration. As with so many herbal remedies, there are conflicting studies and the claims are inconclusive.

Several gingkos were among the only living plants to survive the bombing of Hiroshima. To this day the trees are said to be alive and healthy. If that is not a testament to the power of these trees to persist in the face of the craziest destructive forces that man or nature can come up with, I don't know what is. In a nutshell, gingkos are long term beings hard-wired for long term survival.

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.