A Few of My Favourite Trees - Oreopanax ecuadoriensis - Pumamaqui
Posted by The Lorax in December 19, 2009
Oreopanax ecuadoriensis, growing at the Quito Botanical Gardens, Quito, Pichincha Province. Pumamaqui is a member of the Aralia family, and is closely related to Schefflera. The common name of this tree, which can reach about 15 m of height, means “puma hand” - a reference to the appearance of the leaves. However, this common name may also identify a number of other trees of the same family, as well as some trees of the Cecropiaceae. Pumamaqui is one of my favourite trees based on the sheer oddness of its behaviour in the wild; it and other members of its family are useful “rain indicator” trees, reversing mature foliage about half an hour before rain falls. In the canopy, this makes it stand out - not because it is taller than other trees (it’s not), but because the undersides of mature foliage are silver-grey to green-grey and thus very distinctive in the otherwise dark green field of the canopy.
A Few of My Favourite Trees - Platanus x hispanica - London Plane
Posted by The Lorax in December 18, 2009
London Plane, growing at the Quito Botanical Gardens, Quito, Pichincha Province. These massive trees, among the city’s oldest plantings, are as close as tropical Ecuador gets to having maples - certainly the tree habit and leaves are similar enough. Due to the London Plane’s high tolerance to pollution, drought, and generally inhospitable conditions, it is a popular and frequently used boulevard tree in Quito and other highland cities, particularly in Quito’s La Floresta and Mariscal Sucre districts. The oldest recorded Plane in Quito dates from 1689 and is found in Parque La Carolina. Many of the city’s other planes are only slightly younger. London Planes reach a height of around 30 m and are very long lived. Propagation is by seed or sapling.
