Hesperocyparis macrocarpa 'Saligna Aurea' - Golden Weeping Monterey Cypress

This is a pretty cool cultivar of our Monterey Cypress tree. Growing to 25' or so and about as wide, the thin lateral branchlets are long and thin, sort of like the thread branched cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filiera Aurea'). Trees have a strong central leader with upright arching lateral branched. 

This unbelievable specimen is in a private garden in town.

These are located at the old Suncrest Nursery on Casserly Rd. Now Griggs Nursery

Another great one across from the K-9 clinic.

The foliage is scale-like, opposite, sharp pointed, and diverging from the stems. The internodes are elongated making for thread-like stems. They remain green in the shaded part of the plant so be sure to put them in a sunny location.

Fruit is the same as you would see on the species.

Misidentification: When young they might look like a Chamaecyparis pisifiera 'Filifera Aurea' form though Hesperocyparis macrocarpa 'Saligna Aurea' has a much more open habit with a strong central leader and long ascending lateral branches.

Older name is Cupressus macrocarpa, with a Callitropsis thrown in and then out.

Location:

Corralitos - Pioneer road across from the K9 clinic.

Watsonville - 400 Casserly Rd (Griggs Wholesale Nursery - near the office)

Quercus x ganderi - Gander's oak

 I have been looking at these two Oaks for years and I think I am close to getting to the correct identification. I always guessed they were hybrids between the Coast Live Oak and California Black Oak but the difficulty was (is) the amount of hybridization and genetic studies that Q. agrifolia has been part of makes it difficult to come up with the name. Additionally, the experts are not in agreement.

My favorite old book "Pacific Coast Trees" by McMinn and Maino lists one hybrid, Q. morehus. More recent publications suggest there are more. But, perhaps the botanical variety oxyadenia is not really a distinct variety which eliminates the hybrid group.

Regardless of the name, I will continue.

Large semi-evergreen tree growing to 50' with a broadly oval outline. Often with multiple main branches. For those local, this one is on Bonita close to the Fire Department end.

This one has a different shape due to it growing up against a house.

The leaves are alternate, anywhere from 2-1/2" to 5" long. Most leaves have lobed margins with a short prickle at the end of the lobe. Semi-evergreen and lobed due to Q. kelloggii parent. I read somewhere they called the tree reluctantly deciduous, which fits some years.

You can see the variability in leaf size and depth of the lobes.

Lower surface usually has tufts of hairs in the axils of the main veins.

Some leaves showing the fall color.

Stems are gray colored, terminal buds sharply pointed with imbricate scales, and clustered.

Fruit is an acorn, ripening during the first year. Found only the cap this year and forgot to shoot a picture last year of the fruit.

Trunk develops a nice furrowed look.

Younger trunks are pretty smooth.

Misidentification: Quercus kelloggii though those leaves are bigger, broader, more deeply lobed, and the acorn cap is different.

Synonyms:

CalFlora calls this tree Q. Xchasei.

There was a species originally named Q. chasei (McMinn, 1949)

Kew Gardens considers the proper name as Q. Xganderi with Q. agrifolia var. oxyadenia and Q. kelloggii as the parents.

Cal Poly SLO does not mention Q. Xchasei

https://selectree.calpoly.edu/tree-detail/1727

Observers on Inaturalist refer to Q. XChasei as a synonym of Q. Xganderi though some use the prior as the proper name.

Location

Aptos

406 Bonita Drive, across the street on the freeway side.

416 Dorsey Ave

x Chiranthodendron lenzii

I can't tell you how many times I must have driven past this tree and not seen it. Then, a few days ago there is was in full bloom standing up against a larger magnolia that must have caught my eye.

This is a man made hybrid between the Mexican hand tree and a California native.
Chiranthodendron pentadactylon x Fremontodendron 'Pacific Sunset'. Sometimes called x Chiranthofremontia lenzii and I recall a citation that the whole group might be one species. There is not a lot of information on these trees and I think I have only seen 3-4 of them in person. I think the more common name is the Hybrid Monkey Hand Tree.

Evergreen tree growing 30+ feet tall upright branching, sort of pyramidal to columnar with stiff branches. Lower branches flattening out, which is nice because the flowers sit on the tops of the stems.

Foliage is attractive, resembling its parents, alternately arranged, simple, 4-5" long and wide, palmately lobed with 3-5 lobes, dark green glossy leathery upper surface and a whitish bronze below due to all the hairs on the surface.

Stems are also covered with hairs, at least when young. The oldest specimen I have seen shows smooth bark.

Flowers are really pretty cool looking. Borne on the upper surface of the stems, they are a yellowish orange color on the outside and more orange inside. The monkey paw part of the flower is the 5 stamens and are golden colored rather than red like one of its parents. You can see the stigma pointing to 11 o'clock.

Flowers with the stamens still closed.

Flower bud.

Flowers are often found along the tops of the branches.

Misidentification:
Likely to think its a Fremontidendron but the flowers are different, these flowers have red/orange inside and not yellow like our native tree.

Chiranthodendron pentadactylon has red stamens.


Location:
Corralitos
2957 Freedom Blvd

Santa Cruz
Arboretum, past the small nursery growing area.

Chrysolepis chrysophylla - Golden Chinqapin

This tree was totally new to me. I was out of my truck collecting some knobcone pine cones on Empire Grade that came down in a storm and I see this dark leaved tree with chestnut fruit. I look up for a chestnut tree but there wasn't one. And the fruit were attached. Okay, not hard to figure out what it is once I get home. The Golden Chinqapin is a relative of the chestnut (Castanea) but has male and female flowers in the same inflorescence. This is could be the botanical variety, Chrysolepis chrysophylla var Minor. Trees growing on poor soils, reaching 30 feet or less.

Leaves are evergreen, simple, alternate, lanceolate to narrowly elliptical, 2-5" long, folding upward along the main vein, boat keel like, about 1" wide, dark green upper surface and a golden lower surface.

Plants are monoecous, males at the ends of the catkins. Male flowers creamy white at the ends of the branches forming in middle summer, July here.

Male flowers at the ends or in this picture, at the top of the inflorescence and the females near the bottom.  Looks like my deck needs painting…..

 Really, red berries? Nope, galls formed by the Chinquapin Flower Wasp.

Fruit is a nut, enclosed in a spiny husk (cupule = cup-like structure like those surrounding the base of an acorn), very much like that of a chestnut. These are three-angled to round, but caught a nice triangular one,

Spins on the outer husk variously branched and very sharp. One distinction between this and a chestnut is that there are separations between each of the 3 nuts.

Here is the fruit on the left with a chestnut on the right.

Stems yellowish turning red, yellow star shape pith.

Bark smooth when young, developing over time to become deeply furrowed.

Synonyms: Castanopsis chrysophylla

Misidentification:
A chestnut due to the fruit, but the leaves look totally different.

Location:
Santa Cruz
5187 Empire Grade

Sambucus mexicana - Blue Elderberry

A California native deciduous shrub or tree growing 15-25' tall forming an irregularly rounded to spreading form with multiple stems arising from an older trunk. Old trees have thick trunks but the wood making up the canopy is usually fairly young as suckers arise along the trunk or flat lying branches. Usually found near water, but seems to be pretty tolerant of dry soils.

Leaves are deciduous, opposite, pinnately compound, 6-12" long, with 5-7 lanceolate to narrowly ovate leaflets with serrated margins and noticeable unequal leaf bases. Leaflets are about 2-4" long and about 1" wide, and medium green. Trees growing with little water have smaller leaves that are often curled.

Flowers yellowish white, in a flat topped cyme. Individually small, but in large quantities making a nice display.

Fruit is blue when ripe, 3/8' diameter, sometimes with a distinct waxy covering. Infructescence gets very heavy and hang when fruit is ripe.

Young stems are bright green with orangish lenticels. Suckers can be very thick and grow very rapidly.

Bark on older trees is ridged, reddish brown in color.

I learned this plant as Sambucus caerulea back in the day, and will always recall seeing them all over Pullman WA and "getting" the caerulea part due to the fruit color. Also called S. mexicana caerulea or S. nigra cerulean.

Misidentification:
Not hard to identify, suckering habit, unequal leaflet bases, blue fruit.

Location:
Just about everywhere you find native plants growing.

Aptos
Nisene Marks all over the road prior to the pay station,
502 Loma Prieta Dr. 

Aesculus californica 'Canyon Pink' - Canyon Pink Buckeye

A pink flowered selection of our beautiful CA buckeye, this deciduous tree/shrub grows 15-40' tall, at least that's what most references suggest though I have only seen a few trees. Originally found as a seedling selected from fruit collected in Monterey County, it's only propagated via grafting so it has limited availability (not really a good excuse).

I've seen several pinkish flowered trees at Wilder State Park (below) so the genes are there for more selections.

Foliage is really the same as are most all traits except the flower color.

Misidentification:
Don't mistake it for the various pink horse chestnuts, Aesculus x carnea, which have much larger wider leaves and furrowed bark and are much larger trees.

Location:
Aptos
Cabrillo College Horticulture Building 5000.

Fremontodendron 'California Glory' - California Glory Flannel bush

California Glory Flannel Bush is a large evergreen rounded shrub or small tree native to California, potentially reaching 20' tall and wide. They are pretty stiff looking plants, with branches going off in various directions in mostly two dimensions or flattened herringbone pattern. 

Leaves are evergreen, simple, palmately lobed with 3 to sometimes 5 lobes. Leaves are dark green on the upper surface and covered with whitish stellate shaped hairs that are an irritant to many people. There is a tremendous variability in leaf shape in many specimens of flannel bush species and cultivars. The species has yellow hairs.

Flowers are yellow with 5 yellow petals and 5 orangish sepals. Produced in the spring and summer. This cultivar is very yellow and almost flat flowers and has more orangish coloring when viewed from behind. Large stamens are obvious. 

 Fruit is a capsule surrounded by bracts.

Stems are also covered with those nasty hairs. Be very careful working with these plants, the hairs get in your nose and are very uncomfortable to say the least. Stipules present as well.

This cultivar is a hybrid between Fremontodendron californium and F. mexicanum and introduced by Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden in 1962. My guess is all the cultivars are hybrids. 'California Glory', 'Pacific Sunset' and 'San Gabriel' came from Rancho Santa Ana, while the others originally came from Saratoga Horticultural Foundation.

'Pacific Sunset' - Large plant, 30' and wider according to Nevin Smith (Native Treasures), Upright grower with stiff branches, flowers deep golden yellow with orange

'San Gabriel' - As large as 'Pacific Sunset' (Smith) Larger leaves and medium yellow flowers.

'Ken Taylor' - 5' tall and 8' wide, somewhat rounded and  mounded.

'Eldorado Gold' - Low spreading form, see below. Picture from Cal Poly I think.

Misidentification:

Other Fremontidendrons likely, this one has more white tomentum. Saw 'Butano Ridge' at the UCSC sale, the leaves are very dark.

Location

Aptos: 

Freedom Blvd at the intersection with Soquel Drive. Two specimens.

Moss Landing is not in our county but the nicest ones are at the Dolan Rd intersection around the power plant.