Melaleuca quinquenervia - Paperbark Tea tree

Another tree from the southern hemisphere that preforms very well in California, maybe better in warmer areas than SC but still pretty okay. The paper bark tea tree is a medium to fast growing evergreen tree with an upright oval shaped habit, It can can have a pretty open or pretty full canopy. More likely grown for its fairly narrow habit and its beautiful bark.

These are at Cal Poly and you can see the open habit.

Leaves are simple, elliptical, 2-4" long by about 1/2" wide, entire margins, both sides look the same and the veins look parallel, unlike most dicots. Reddish new growth in the spring, medium green in summer and an odd purplish in the cooler season. May be slightly hairy, especially the petiole.

Terminal buds are red, pointed but only about 1/" long.

Flowers are typical of this group, sort of bottle brush like, off white to cream colored, lots of flowers in a tight cluster along the stem. Easily seen if you look at the fruit below.

Fruit is a small rounded capsule, about 1/4" diameter, retained on the stem for a long time.

As I mentioned, the bark may be why people plant this tree. Very light colored almost white, and very spongy. Peels off in large sheets.

This tree also goes by Punk Tree, Paperbark Punk, Cajeput Tree, Niaouli, and just plain old melaleuca. Considered invasive in at least 6 states.

Misidentification: Bottle brush when not in bloom perhaps. Look at the bark and the habit.

Location:
Capitola:
In front of Big 5 on 41st by Capitola Dr, nice grouping.

Santa Cruz:
209 Fridley
Ocean St, County Court House parking lot.
334 Pacheco Ave

Ulmus parvifolia - Chinese Elm

The lacebark elm, also called the Chinese elm is wonderful deciduous tree. Do not mistake it for the similar Siberian elm and its one of the reasons many use lacebark rather than Chinese. The form is truly beautiful with age, a bit gawky when young. You can see the weeping tendencies in the first picture and the awkwardness in the second. This a a fast growing tree, 30-50' tall and wide spreading, maybe even wider than tall. Forms a spreading to rounded crown with varying degrees of weeping branches or at least the end of the branches. Evergreen except in cold climates.

Leaves are alternate, simple, 1 to 2-1/2" long by about 1/2" wide, oblanceolate to elliptical, serrated margins, dark green upper surface and lighter  below. Leaf base is characteristic of elms, they are uneven or oblique. Not all plants with oblique bases are elms, but elms have oblique bases. Elms are also known for having stiff hairs on the upper surface making them fell like a 5 day beard. In areas where they are deciduous they can have nice red to yellow fall color.

Flowers are small, not likely noticed, and borne in the fall unlike other elms.

Fruit is a small round disk like fruit about 1/2" in diameter with a papery covering over the seed. Produced heavily in the fall.

Certainly one of the greatest attributes is the bark. These are planted nicely in a grove to show off the bark. The bark is orangish brown with lots of lenticles and peels off or sheds in small flakes.

Misidentification: The Siberian Elm, but the have very different bark, bloom in the spring, are weedy, and the leaves tend to be doubly serrated.

Locations:

the grove shown is at 2701 Estates Dr, Aptos

Santa Cruz: 710 Mission St. is a really big one

17th heading towards the beach from Portola along the street at the Elementary School

Betula nigra - River Birch

The River birch is a large, fast growing, deciduous tree capable of reaching 80 feet but more likely 35-60'. Often grown as a multi-stemmed tree to show of the bark. It forms a pyramidal shape and can be 30' wide. Give it room. Very interesting bark when mature. Fall color is not as great as other birches but not bad.

These are going fast, most of the cul-de-sac on Mar Vista (in Aptos) was stripped of trees this winter.

Leaves are alternate, simple, rhomboid to ovate shaped, margins doubly serrated, base is wedge shaped. Dark green above and glaucous (waxy layer) below. Leaves generally 1- 1/2" 3- 1/2" long. Petiole is slightly hairy.

Stems are light reddish brown and slightly pubescent when young. Much smoother than the other birches and has a smaller bud.

Flowers are monoecious (male and female flowers on the same plant). Males in overwintering catkins 2-3" long. Females emerge with the leaves, small (3/4") red and erect. This image shows the males and the pollenated females.

Fruit are small nuts in a catkin. All the birch fruit look alike to me. You can see a picture of the nuts in the post on Betula pendula.

The bark of the species is usually dark brown with stiffly exfoliating sheets. Quite rough in appearance. There will be a few that show some smooth pinkish white peeling bark. 

The cultivar 'Cully' is such a selection beautiful bark, larger leaves and faster growth. 'Cully' has the common name of Heritage Birch. This birch selection has very nice bark, and is very fast growing, with slightly larger leaves. I am not sure I have seen any around here but I will keep looking.

Misidentification: Other birches perhaps, but not with that bark. Look at the stems, once you know its a birch it will be easy.

Not really common, 

Aptos:

Mar Vista Dr. across from the intersection of Madeline along the street and into the small cul-de-sac but you better hurry, many of them were removed this winter.

There are some young ones on the Cabrillo campus 

1770 Dolphin Dr are a few nice ones

Soquel:

Soquel along Soquel/San Jose at the entrance to the blue ball park.

Santa Cruz:
619-623 Seabright Ave - Condo driveway

Laurus nobilis - Grecian Laurel

The Grecian laurel is from the Mediterranean region and yields "bay" leaves and "laurels" used by the Greeks. Its a slow growing evergreen tree to about 35', usually multi-stemmed with a wide spreading form after its upright youth. Not sure why you would plant it, do you really need that many bay leaves?

Leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple, 2-4" long, narrowly elliptical or lanceolate, entire margins, sharp pointed tip and fragrant. Glossy, dark green as well.

The cultivar 'Saratoga' released by the Saratoga Horticultural Foundation has rounded leaves.

Flowers are borne early spring, in clusters at the ends of last years growth. Plants are males or females.

These are the flower buds.

The trees are often multi-stemmed as seen here. Bark is generally gray and smooth.

Misidentification: The California bay perhaps. Both multi-stemmed generally, both with very fragrant foliage. The Ca bay tree has lighter green leaves, and a fleshy fruit like a small avocado.

Location: 221 Townsend Aptos,

110 Madeline Aptos

Pyrus calleryana - Callery Pear

The Callery pears are an assemblage of a half dozen cultivars, from the once popular rounded 'Bradford' to the narrow upright 'Cleveland Select'. They all have multi-seasonal interest, with beautiful white flowers early spring to a nice clean habit and eventually beautiful red/orange fall colors. I am going to treat them all here, not sure if any of them need their own post.

They are deciduous, small to medium trees with a medium growth rate. The shape depends on the cultivar of course, with 'Cleveland Select', the Chanticleer pear being pretty common and one of the more narrow ones.

The oldest one and at one time the most popular was 'Bradford' which is almost round with almost round leaves.

The replacement for 'Bradford' is 'Holmford' or as some call it 'New Bradford'. Looks a lot like 'Aristocrat' to me.

Leaves are alternate, simple, 3", ovate but some may be more rounded. Margins are slightly serrated. Some cultivars have very undulated margins. Upper surface dark green and glossy.

 Stems are brownish green. Buds are large and are covered with a white pubescence.

  Flowers are 1/2", white in 3" diameter clusters. Not the best smell. This picture is upside down.

 Fruit is a very small asian pear, rounded, golden color with lots of lenticels.

Wonderful fall color on all of them, some sort of orange and reds.

All pears get fireblight, a bacterial disease that kills the stems so quickly in the spring that the leaves do not fall off, just look like they were hit with a blow torch. You can see the black areas on the stems where the bacterial did its damage.

Misidentification: A pear is a pear is a pear, well not quite but you should not have any trouble getting to Pyrus. From there you will need to see the form or if the leaves are almost round its Bradford.

Location: The 'New Bradford' are located behind Holy Cross Preschool by the mission.
There are Aristocrat pears on Kennedy at Monterey in Capitola.
'Cleveland Select' on El Salto just past Livermore on Depot Hill.

Acacia baileyana - Bailey Acacia

A small upright ascending tree 15 - 25'. Reasonably thick and somewhat congested. Branching pattern may be pretty random. Beautiful  in bloom. This image was taken at the UCSC Arboretum.

This is the purple foliage form.

Leaves alternate,  bipinnately compound 1-3" long and about as wide, 4-8 pairs of pinnae, generally an even number, each with about 20-40 leaflets about 1/4" long. Interesting little gland at the base of each pair of primary pinnae, roundish with a hole. Leaves are gray green or silvery colored.

Yellow flowers clustered into small round heads on a long racemes. Very showy and one of the reasons the trees were so very popular in the day. Bloom very early, many years late January or early February, slightly later than A. dealbata.

Legumes, 2-4" long, 1/2" wide or less and sometimes constricted between the seeds. 

Trunks are smooth, gray color. Nothing to write home about.

'Purpurea' is a beautiful cultivar with beautiful purple tinged leaves and flower stalks, making quite a landscape statement.
447 9th Ave SC

Misidentification: Most likely A. dealbata, which looks similar, blooms about the same time with the same looking yellow flowers. However, the foliage of A. dealbata is much larger, the lateral leaflets longer. And the tree is taller, and maybe more likely to fall down.

Location:
Soquel
The purple one seen above it located on the corner of Soquel Dr and Crystal Heights,

Santa Cruz
2422 Mission St in the parking lot at the Sunset Inn (Purpurea again)
447 9th Ave

Quercus ilex - Holly Oak

Holly Oak is a nice oak, just good old nice, cant say it ever brings out a "wow" like some of the oaks. It is a very popular oak tree and commonly planted. Medium growing evergreen (non-native oak but very common) tree 30 - 40' tall and about the same wide. The holly oak forms a dense, oval to rounded crown. This is an old specimen in England.

This is more like what we see here, this one is at San Lorenzo Park by the pond. Obviously a mistake, as all the other oaks in the park a Cork Oaks, and nice ones at that. In Pacific Coast Trees by McMinn and Maino, the authors suggest that these two trees are commonly confused.

Leaves are evergreen, simple, alternate, oval to ovate to lanceolate shaped, 1-3" long, margins entire or lightly spinose and slightly rolled over, dark green upper surface, white on the lower surface. Often with a slightly pointed tip. Variable like so many oaks. Younger more vigorous leaves tend to have more teeth.

Male flowers are in catkins, elongating in the spring, females are borne singly a bit further back from the ends.

Fruit of course is an acorn. The cap or cup is large and covers much of the acorn. Acorn is 3/4" to  about 1" long, can be brown to black when mature. Seems there is a second botanical variety that has almost black fruit. 

Younger acorns.

Stems are grayish or copper colored, hairy, and often take on a dark color as seen in this image.

Bark is checked in small pieces.

Older trunks are way cool.

Misidentification: Look for the white undersides of the leaves. Also, something caused the stems and older leaves to look like they have sooty mold but there does not seem to be any insects.
Q. suber also has a light colored leaf underside but the leaves are smaller, more blue and the bark is key.

Location: San Lorenzo Park by the pond is a nice specimen and while you are there look at the cork oaks.