Cordyline australis - Green Dracena

The Cabbage tree is a slow growing evergreen tree with sword shaped leaves and a swollen water retaining stem. Often branched low or not. Can reach 20 or more feet tall. Tropical looking tree. Now comes in lots of colors, a purple one is pretty common, but there are lots of tri-colored ones as well. Looks like a Yucca.

This one is single-stemmed and showing the swollen base.

Leaves are sword shaped, lanceolate, 18 - 36" long and about 1 - 2" wide. Sharply pointed, entire margins, slightly curled inward (concave shaped or boat like). 

Small white flowers in large panicles (2-3' long) in mid to late summer. Panicles may be upright or slightly pendulous.

Fruit is a small berry. These are dried up.

Stems are thick, succulent like, with leaf scars.


Trunk often with a wide base near the ground. Bark on older trees is gray brown and slightly checked.

Misidentification: Looks like a Yucca, such as Yucca aloifolia, the Spanish Bayonet, but the flowers are totally different as are the leaves, which are much wider and more distinctly boat shaped.

Location: Common,
Santa Cruz: Sunshine Villa on either Front St or 3rd. in the parking lot to the left of the facility more on 3rd.

Olea europaea - Olive

The olive tree is small evergreen tree or large shrub growing to about 25' here. It has a rounded spreading canopy with puffs of foliage arising from the multiple upright branches coming off of an gnarly old trunk. The trees have been planted for centuries for the olive and the oil that is pressed from them. They impart a classical Mediterranean look to a landscape in CA.

There are hundreds of cultivars, some grown for the fruit, others grown because they are fruitless. The ones below are the original 'Swan Hill',  a fruitless variety.

Leaves are evergreen, grayish green to bright green, oppositely arranged, narrowly elliptical to oblong, 1 1/2" to 3" long by about 1/2" wide margins entire, upper surface with varying degrees of hairs with cause the foliage to be gray colored. The lower surface is silver colored as is the petiole. 

Stems are thin, covered with white hairs like the bottom of the leaves. Buds are very small.

Flowers are small, yellowish green color in late spring, not really noticeable unless you are allergic to the pollen. They are fragrant as well.

Fruit, do I need to show you a picture of an olive? Its a drupe of course with a single hard pit.

This is why many people plant seedless varieties such as Swan Hill.

The trunks of old trees is why I would want one in my yard. Deeply ridged but a smooth silver layer of bark.

Misidentification: Not likely, its pretty obvious with the silver covering over the leaves and the bark.

Locations: Tons of them, some nice ones along Portola Dr between 36th and 38th.

Eucalyptus sideroxylon - Red Iron Bark

The Red Iron Bark Eucalyptus is a fast growing evergreen tree, 40 - 90' tall x 30 - 50' wide with an upright form with several large primary scaffold branches and pendulous terminal branches. It has an overall gray blue color and attractive bark. Habit generally irregular, sort of lumpy, with tufts of foliage here and there. They are pretty common here and even more so in warmer areas over the hill.

This one shows the potential size as well as the weeping habit of the smaller branches.

Leaves are alternate, simple, lanceolate to ovate to slightly falcate, 3-6" long, blue gray color on both sides, leathery, and weeping from the thin stems.

Flowers range from white, to light pink to scarlet colored, coming from the stamens borne in large clusters. As mentioned in other posts on eucalyptus the flowers are all stamens, the sepals and petals are fused into a cap that falls off, you can sort of see one on the right of the picture.

Flower buds are pointed.

Fruit is a woody capsule typical of Eucs, about 3/8" diameter, tip of the capsule constricted to make it a bit urn shaped.

Stems are thin, reddish on the upper surface, weeping lightly due to the weight of the foliage.


Bark is beautiful, thick, brown to black with reddish underbark. Often with reddish crystals of resin. No flaking bark here, just persistent hard bark.

There is a cultivar 'Roseum' that is commonly planted but my guess is that most are called that even though they are seed grown and will have a wide variability of flower colors.

Misidentification:
Of all the Eucalyptus this one is petty obvious, bright pink flowers generally and the bark is very distinct.

Locations:
Monterey Blvd in Capitola has several.
Pretty common actually.

Watsonville:
Along Main St in the planting area by the intersection with Pennsylvania Dr.

Corymbia ficifolia - Red Flowering Gum

The Red Flowering Gum is a slow to medium growing evergreen tree, 20 - 40' x 15 - 50' wide usually with a rounded canopy, and dense, but can be more upright and narrow as well. Often multi-stemmed, or low branched it is reputed to grow much taller in cultivation than in its natural habit, unlike most plants it seems. There are some really nice smaller selections as well, just not available here. Too bad, can you image a 10' tree that blooms like this one?

Another name change, was a Eucalyptus, now along with a few others that we know, have become Corymbia.

Leaves are evergreen, simple, alternate, lanceolate to ovate, entire margins, leathery, dark green upper surface, lighter green lower. Distinct veination, midrib lighter green or yellowish and strongly perpendicular lateral veins and a pinkish-red petiole.

Beautiful red flowers borne in a dense corymb. Color due to the showy stamens. Like all Eucs they have a deciduous cap that is a  modified perianth (sepals and petals).

Fruit is a woody capsule, generally 1" long, urn shaped with a constricted opening, ripening brown,. Easy to spot.

Stems are stout, reddish colored with small buds.

Bark is thin, gray brown in color, flaking in small bits to show off an orange-red inner bark, but one that holds its bark.

Misidentification: Perhaps another relative, Corymbia calyophylla, which is similar looking but the flowers are usually white or very light pink, and larger buds on the stems.

Location: Quite common.

Lophostemon confertus - Brisbane Box

Nice tree, too bad about the name. Was Tristania, now Lophostemon, yikes. Anyway as I said,  the Brisbane box is a beautiful evergreen tree, 35 - 45' x 25', moderate to fast grower. Generally narrow cone-shaped or narrowly oval but some are broadly oval to almost rounded. Too bad they are so variable, it possibly impacts selection for use as a street tree. The first picture is from Cal Poly and was called Tristania when I was there.

This one is at the Arboretum but looks like the ones on Soquel Ave just south of Chanticleer  Ave.

Leaves are evergreen, opposite, simple, 4 - 6" long, x 1 to 1-1/2" wide, elliptical to lanceolate, entire margins, leathery, dark green, lower surface lighter green. (Petioles smooth unlike madrone). New foliage has a nice red color.

Small white flowers with fringed stames. Interesting to see but not really showy in the tree. What's with the stamens on southern hemisphere plants anyway?

Small capsules, eucalyptus like, 3 sided, about 1/2" diameter.

Stems reddish brown as you can see in the above picture.

Bark smooth until later, exfoliating in paper like sheets somewhat like our native madrone. Eventually bark is gray brown in small plates.

Misidentification: Often confused with the Madrone, the Arbutus menziesii, but the young stems on the madrone are hairy usually as the madrone has fleshy fruit, the leaves are serrated on the madrone but the bark does look similar.

Location:
Soquel Ave south of Chanticleer are some decent looking specimens.
Nice row as street trees on Poppy Way in Aptos.

Tristaniopsis laurina - Water Gum

The Water Gum is a small slow growing evergreen tree, oval to rounded to 25' or so, much taller in its native habitat. Forms are dense canopy with upright scaffold branches. Nice and clean.

Leaves evergreen, simple, alternate, elliptical to lanceolate, 2 - 4" x 1/2 - 1" wide. Dark glossy green upper surface and lighter lower. Aromatic when crushed. Lasting 2 years.

Small yellow fragrant flowers in tight clusters. Individual yellow flowers about 1/4" wide, with 5 petals. Late spring or early summer.

Fruit is a small dark brown capsule, clustered in groups of about 5.

Stems are brown covered with very fine hairs brown or reddish brown.  Eventually becoming gray brown.

Older bark is mottled brown peeling in thin plates to reveal a light tan or whitish bark.

Commonly seen cultivar called 'Elegant'.  Much larger leaf.

This is a shot of the cultivar 'Elegant'.

Misidentification: The smaller leaf version of the species might look like native Wax Myrtle,

Myrica californica. Look at the stems, the myrtle are not brown changing to lighter gray or the flowers if you see them.

Location;

Capitola: A nice location to see both the species and cultivar is at the condos along Kennedy Dr and especially at the intersection of Kennedy Dr and Monterey. The cultivars are on the section of Kennedy that heads towards the frontage road.

Watsonville: On corner of Main St and Ford in front of the First National Bank are some really nice specimens.

Cinnamomum camphora - Camphor Tree

The camphor tree is a large evergreen tree, slowly growing to over 40' tall and possibily 50+ feet wide, forming a broad rounded canopy. Large upright spreading primary scaffold branches often arc down with age. Can be nice green but can also be almost yellow in color.

Leaves evergreen simple, alternate, 2-3" long ovate to elliptical shaped, long pointed tip, margins entire, waxy texture, shiny, light green almost yellowish in color. Camphor smell with crushed. They have 2 glands on the leaf at the intersection of the main vein and the 2 distinct lateral veins.

I can't say its know for fall color but the evergreen leaves do fall off eventually and turn red before doing so, they just don't all turn at once, too bad, its a nice red.

Fairly distinct terminal buds, 1/2 inch long, imbricate, and sharp-pointed. Stems smooth, glabrous, yellow green.

Small white to yellow flowers, lightly fragrant in 2-3" panicles.

Small black drupe, less than 1/2" diameter, on long pedicuncles hanging in winter.

 Bark develops grayish brown with small square plates. Primary lateral branches are large with age.

Misidentification: Not really sure, its just a common plain looking tree. Look for the small glands on the leaves.

Location:

Santa Cruz:

217 Pacheco Ave - the best so far … Heritage Tree of Santa Cruz

Downtown on Cedar St in the parking lots. 

Capitola:

The one at the top is at the Beverly's on Soquel and 41st.

4610 Emerald - 2 large specimens in the front yard