A Few of My Favourite Trees – Solanum betacea – Tomate de Arbol
Posted by The Lorax in June 26, 2010
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Tomate de Arbol - Plant Habit
Tomate de Arbol - Leaves
Tomate de Arbol - Unripe Fruit
Tomate de Arbol - Bark
Tomate de Arbol (literally, Tree Tomato), growing at the QBOT experimental gardens, Quito, Pichincha Province. I’ve talked about this plant in previous posts, but did not have comprehensive photos of it. Solanum betacea was previously called Cymophandra betaceum and also Solanum betaceum, and has recently been reclassified.
Suffice to say that it’s a favourite tree because it’s such a fast grower, and because I’m quite fond of the fruit.
A Few of My Favourite Trees – Oreopanax ecuadoriensis – Pumamaqui
Posted by The Lorax in December 19, 2009
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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.
