Elaeaganus umbellata - Autumn Olive

I encountered a specimen of the Autumn Olive (Japanese Silverberry) while looking at some ash trees and thought, wow, who would have planted that? I am very familiar with the Russian Olive, Elaeagnus angustifolia, and its weedy weak wooded habits, but not with this tree. So a little digging and the only reason someone might have planted it could have been the fruit, tiny as they are, contain significantly more lycopene than tomatoes. The plant roots are colonized by a nitrogen fixing bacteria. They are also considered noxious weeds. A deciduous small tree or large shrub, they are more or less rounded.

Leaves are deciduous, alternate, simple, narrowly lanceolate to elliptical, 1-4" long, with somewhat undulated margins. In the spring they are covered with silver scales. The scales fall off the top of the leaf by summer but remain on the lower surface.

Flowers have a long tubular calyx that spreads at the tips and are often described as bell-shaped start shaped with four white sepals, about 1" long, fragrant, opening in the spring, in the axils of the leaves singularly or in groups.

Fruit is a small red berry-like drupe (?), with silver specks. Plants produce lot of them in the summer ripening in fall.

Young stems also completely covered with silver scales when young, becoming reddish brown by years end. Buds are also silver. Trunk is reddish brown and smooth, later becoming furrowed and peeling.

Misidentification:

My first thought when seeing this specimen was the Russian Olive but the fruit looks different.

Location

Aptos

300 Poppy Way

Chamaecyparis pisifera filifera 'Aurea' - Golden Threadleaf Falsecypress

The golden threadleaf falsecypress is a beautiful conifer rarely seen in Santa Cruz. This evergreen conifer has a nice golden ting to the awl-like leaves. You are much more likely to encounter one of many of the dwarf cultivars, such as 'Aurea Nana' or 'Mops'. This cultivar is a slow grower eventually reaching about 20' tall by about 15' wider or less.

This is a shot from the National Arboretum showing how nicely they add contrast to a landscape.

Foliage is evergreen, arranged spirally on the stems. Usually more awl-shaped than scale-like, more or less pointed at the tips and diverging from the stem. Distinct white X's on the lower surface of the branchlets. The characteristic that makes this filifera is the long string like stems of the newer growth.

A closer look at the awl-shaped leaves and the white areas on the stems.

The cones are small and round, with peltate scales, resembling a small soccer ball, but this specimen produces female reproductive structures, it does not produce and cones.

Bark is like other Chamaecyparis species.

Misidentification:
Other golden falsecypress, there are tons of golden ones but not around here. Look for the awl-shpaed leaves and the X's on the backs of the foliage.

Location:
Santa Cruz
503 Ocean View Ave, Corner of Ocean View and Broadway on the Broadway side of the building.

Cupressus arizonica - Arizona Cypressus

The Arizona cypress is/was a commonly planted tree that seems to have lost favor but should be reconsidered due to its drought tolerance. They make good screens, but get a little big for a narrow yard after years. Growing to a height of 30-40' with a pyramidal to conical shaped crown generally dense and retaining its branches to the ground. Usually narrow when young, widening with age. 

This species has several botanical varieties or is considered to be highly variable species depending on your interest in the plant. If its not a favorite, just clump them together into one large variable species, or if you really love them split them into the four botanical varieties or even into different species. Taxonomy at its best. Hesperocyparis (Cupressus) arizonica var. glabra or Hesperocyparis (Cupressus) glabra. (All new world cypress have been moved to this new genus.)

The most widely planted variety is the bluish colored ones.  There is a cultivar names 'Blue Ice' that is popular, though I do not see many planted and I see very few young plants around. 

Leaves are opposite, decussate, very small (1.5- 2 mm), scale-like, bluish green in color due to a waxy coating that is variable in quantity, and distinct white spots which are bits of resin. Stems appear somewhat square.

Foliage clustered near the ends of the branches.

Rounded or slightly elongated cone, 3/4 - 1" diameter, peltate scales 6-8 pairs, with a slightly elongated horn on the back of the scales. Green when young, silver brown maturing in two years.

Bark is attractive but variable. Peeling flakes of gray giving way to red. 

Here is an older picture of the cultivar 'Blue Ice' in Spokane.

While I have not seen any in Santa Cruz, C. 'Raywood's Weeping', is one of may favorites.

Misidentification:
other Cupressus, or even a juniper for that matter. Look for the bluish foliage with resin drops, larger cone (eliminates junipers) and flaky bark.

Location:
Aptos
7300 Mesa Dr  2 large specimens.

Capitola
in the back yard of a house on Escalona, that you can see poking over the fence from Park Ave. Maybe eventually we will see them pretty well.

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.