Malus ioensis ‘Klehm’s Improved Bechtel’ - Bechtel Crabapple

I like this late blooming crabapple with beautiful pink double flowers. The trees are small to medium sized 15-20' with a rounded and dense canopy. It's a pretty old-school tree but easily identified by the large flowers.

Leaves are deciduous, simple, alternate, ovate shaped, 2" long with slightly serrated margins mostly near the tip of the leaf. The trees are susceptible to several fungal diseases and this one gets black spot yearly.

Flowers are large, double, pink, and fragrant. Did I say they were late? Compared to most of the other crabapples that bloom early here (before the cherries) this one blooms late Mid to June.

Fruit is pretty non existent, if any show up they are pink to green and a little over an inch in diameter.

Another name - Malus coronaria ssp. ioensis 'Bechtel' 

Misidentification: Almost any crabapple not in bloom. 

Location

Aptos 309 Martin 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.

Rhaphiolepis 'Montic' - Majestic Beauty Indian Hawthorn

Also called Majestic Beauty by the patent holders, this small tree is a larger relative of the landscape shrub Indian Hawthorn. Reportedly a hybrid of Rhaphiolepis and Eriobotrya resulting in tree form with a stronger upright habit and larger leaves. Trees are evergreen growing to about 20' but are usually in the 10-12' range, with a rounded canopy on a single stem resulting in a form we used to call a lollipop. Reasonably fast growing, its a useful tree for smaller areas.

Leaves are evergreen, simple, obovate to ovate shaped, 5-6" long, about 1-2" wide, dark green, stiff, with serrated margins. Spring foliage has a nice bronze color.

Flowers are pink and larger than most Indian Hawthorns. Borne in large clusters. Most Rhaphiolepis have 5 petals, while these have more, often 8-10.

The canopy is usually very tight, possibly from hard pruning, but looks like a nightmare to prune any other way than rounding.

Naming is always a bit confusing. I have seen this listed many different ways. Some list it as a intergeneric hybrid with the X in front of the genus but with the genus name Rhaphiolepis which is wrong because if it is an intergeneric hybrid the genus name would be a combined name from the two genera. I also see the plant listed as the cultivar 'Majestic Beauty' but that's really the Trademarked name. Oregon State suggests some experts call this plant R. ×delacourii but they also use the single quotes around Majestic Beauty. Not picking on anyone, its just another example of how hard it is to know the origin of many of our plants and without knowing the origin its hard to put it in the correct spot. I have it in my database as a hybrid but I'm not sure. I think its best to leave it without an x anywhere and to exclude any specific epithet.

Misidentification:
I don't think so. Pretty distinct. Leaves are smaller than Eriobotrya foliage.

Location:
Aptos
Corner of Soquel Drive and Trout Gulch Rd.

Capitola
OSH parking lot, way too round and low for a parking lot.

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

Crataegus laevigata 'Paul's Scarlet' - Paul's Scarlet Hawthorn

Scarlet Hawthorn is a deciduous small tree grown for its spring flower display of beautiful scarlet double flowers. Growing 20 x 15 feet with an upright to spreading dense canopy. Usually some horizontal branches which send up water sprouts. It's not one that you will see unless it's in bloom. This one is at one of my favorite small arboretums, Finch Arboretum in Spokane.

This is why people used to buy them.

Foliage is alternate, simple, 1-2" long, dark green in summer, pale yellow fall color, margins lobed, generally 5 lobes.

On young stems you can find stipules.

Flowers are pink-scarlet double.

Fruit is rarely produced, but occasionally you will find a small red pome.

Stems have thorns, heavy on young stems.

 Flower buds rounded.

Bark is furrowed.

Trees are notorious for producing water sprouts in the canopy.

Misidentification: 

Most likely another Hawthorn, but not in bloom or the Washington thorn.

Location

Aptos

450 At Andrews Dr

417 Dorsey Ave

Santa Cruz

726 Hanover St

Lagunaria patersonii - Cow Itch Tree

The cow itch tree is an evergreen tree growing to 30 feet tall by 20 wide. Native to Norfolk Island. Grows as an upright to rounded tree. Not really common. My good friends had their first date under these trees.

Leaves are evergreen, simple, oval, dark green above, light gray below, about 2" long.

Flowers are 1" across, hibiscus like (which means the stamens are fused into a column surrounding the stigma) pink to rose color, fading to white, produced in the summer.

Fruit is a brown capsule. when open they contain very fine hairs that causing itching. Doubt they cause cows to itch.

Misidentification:
foliage might look like a holly oak, maybe…

Location
Capitola
Opal Cliff Dr

Tabebuia impetiginosa - Pink Trumpet Tree

Pink Trumpet tree, best seen in warmer climates than our grows 20-25' tall with an open upright to lightly spreading habit. There maybe more here but I have only seen one.

This is at the Huntington Gardens.

I ran into this tree looking for the famous Monkey hand tree on Spring St, and out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a beautiful Pink Dogwood, so I hung a quick U-turn and wow. I went back almost 8 weeks later and it was still blooming. The owner told me they were once planted all along Pacific Ave.

Found this one on the west side, can't wait to see it in bloom.

Foliage is deciduous, opposite, palmately compound, 3-5 medium green leaflets, elliptical shaped, 4" long, slightly serrated margins.

Little different look, a bit more stiff and weathered, but this was early fall and the other was spring.

Buds are silver, terminal is flat, while the laterals are very small. Stem greenish brown.

Tubular flowers are borne in clusters of 3-5 flowers, pink to purple with a yellow throat.

 Flower display at the Huntington.

Fruit is a long (8") skinny capsule, smooth green, no hairs, usually pretty straight. 

Bark is attractive.

Synonyms: Lots Handroanthus impetiginosus, Tabebuia avellanedae.


Misidentification:
Compared to the yellow trumpet tree when not blooming, look at the foliage, stems and fruit, one is covered with copper hairs, this one is not.

Location
Santa Cruz
112 Quarry Ln
124 Kenneth Dr. Wow, go see that one.
316 Oceanview Ave

X Chitalpa tashkentensis - Chitalpa

This hybrid is a rapidly growing deciduous tree with a  20-35' height and spread, forming a dense, spreading oval canopy. Most of the specimens I have seen are in the 20 foot range. Parents are Catalpa bignonioides and Chilopsis linearis.

Leaves are deciduous, simple, oblanceolate to elliptical, to about 6"long with entire margins. Light green above, paler below with light coating of hairs. They appear to be clustered at the tips of the branches.

The Catalpa-like flowers are attractive, trumpet shaped, about 1" long, borne in upright racemes with 15-30 flowers, pink to almost white depending on the cultivar.

Bark is more or less smooth with shallow linear groves.

Pink Dawn - pink and Morning Cloud pale pink to white

Misidentification:
From a distance it looks somewhat like a Myoporum, and I think I rode by this one several times before looking more closely.

Location
Aptos
201 El Camino Del Mar (Seacliff area)

Soquel
Old San Jose Highway 1002 (about)

Santa Cruz
1001 Soquel Ave at Bicycle Trip
216 12th Ave
500 block of Calcedonia (across from 503)