Dodonaea viscosa 'Purpurea' - Purple Hopseed

The purple hopseed is a rapidly growing small tree or more likely a large shrub, but we can include it here anyway. Growing to 15', individual plants will form an upright oval shape. More often than not we seem them as a hedge or screen.

Leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple, oblong to oblanceolate,  4" by about 3/4" wide and depending on the sun exposure and cooling temperatures they can be purple to greenish bronze. Generally held vertical on the stems.

Small green flowers in the spring, in clusters, hard to spot. Separate male and females on the same plant (monoecious). Can't say I have ever seen them or even looked for them.


Fruit is a 2-3 winged capsule, reddish to brown when mature. Resembles an elm fruit. But must look like a hop plant, unless you have actually seen a hop plant.

A fresh capsule, still red and showing the 3 lobes.

Bark is fibrous, peeling with age. Trunk never really gets that big in diameter.

Misidentification?
Not sure.

Location:
Everywhere, sorry but its the truth.

Albizia julibrissin 'Rosea' - Rosea Silk tree

A nice dark pink or rose colored cultivar of the standard Mimosa tree. From what I can tell they look just like the species in all aspects except the flower color, so please see the description of the tree in that post.

Flowers are much darker pink almost rose colored.

You will see that some good references consider this a botanical form or forma and not a cultivar.

The RHS considers it a forma
The USDA considers it a variety
Cal Poly considers it a 'Cultivar'

Location:
Aptos
Marlo Ct off Soquel Dr.

Capitola
216 Central Ave

Albizia julibrissin - Silk tree

The Silk tree or Mimosa tree is a fast growing small to medium deciduous tree commonly planted in Santa Cruz. Growing to 30' tall with an upright vase shape to a wide spreading umbrella habit, with horizontally layered branches on which the flowers are borne. Trees bloom in summer. They quickly lose all their foliage in fall and are late to leaf out. If you google Albizia you will see it's most common websites discuss its invasiveness.

Leaves are deciduous, alternate, bipinnately compound, 18-20" long, each of the 20 or so lateral leaflets is also compound with 40 to 60 tiny 1/4" long linear leaflets.

The shade created by the foliage is nice, as is the view up into the canopy.

Flowers are beautiful and one of the reasons people plant these trees. Again, like some others in the Legume family that don't look like peas. The attractive part of individual flowers are the stamens. Individually they are small, borne in large clusters in a branched inflorescence.

Fruit is a pod, about 4-6" long, flattened and tan color. Reasonably persistent.

Misidentification:
In flower not likely, however students have a hard time with just the foliage, looking a lot like Jacaranda mimosifolia. But the Albizia leaf is shorter, as are the leaflets.

Location:
Aptos
421 Clubhouse Dr.

Capitola
1540 45th Ave

Ligustum lucidum - Chinese Privit

Often grown as a shrub or hedge the glossy privit can reach 25-30' if trained as a tree. Trees form a very tight canopy with a rounded or slightly spreading shape. Quite popular, easy to grow and if you like sheered trees this one is already there.

The dark green evergreen leaves are opposite, simple, 3-6" long, elliptical - ovate shaped, with entire margins and a pointed tip. Transparent leaf margins - lacking color.

Stems are brown with lots of white lenticels. Bark is pretty plain.

Flowers in August, big time, big privit smell. Completely covering the tree are small creamy white flowers arranged in 5-7" long panicles. Separate male and female flowers (monoecious) on the same tree.

You can see some of the flowers have anthers (boy parts) while others do not.

The fruit is a small (1/4") purple-black drupe that lasts into winter. Somewhat attractive, if its not yours and you have to clean them up. Considered inedible but birds like them.

Misidentification
Other privits, especially L. japonicum. Leaves generally larger than L. japonicum, also thinner and softer the thicker leaves of L. japonicum, snap when bent, L. lucidum leaves just bend.

Location (almost everywhere)
Aptos
Along Soquel Drive at Terrace