Emerging leaves of Siberian Elm (Ulmus pumila)My original idea was to use Umbrella Pine as my ‘U’ post. I just didn’t execute the pictures very well so I went with Plan B which are these pictures of Ulmus leaves that I took this spring in Santa Fe. I think they are Siberian Elm (Ulmus pumila) leaves and the second picture shows the flowers. I am going to have to not recommend this tree after some research. Apparently it is very invasive and some communities, including Santa Fe, have banned its planting. Its wind borne seed takes over pastures, gardens, railroad right of ways, and just about anywhere else it lands. The rapid growth rate and a resistance to both drought and heat make it easy for the tree to become established. Come to think of it these pictures were shot in the parking lot of the Guadalupe Café (a great Santa Fe restaurant). Plant guru Michael Dirr (he is like a demigod to people like me) said of the Siberian Elm “"one of, if not the, world's worst trees...a poor ornamental”, and that is good enough to me.
Here are a couple shots of the original subject I had mind, the Japanese Umbrella Pine (Sciadopitys verticillata). Too bad the close-ups didn’t come out. I just couldn’t manage the depth of field on the needles (they are actually cladodes, not needles) that were pointing towards me. It is an interesting tree and a bit of a botanical oddball. I learned a few new things about this tree when I looked it up. First was the correct pronunciation, sigh-uh-DOP-ih-tiss ver-ti-si-LAH-tuh. I already knew that it wasn’t a true Pine but didn’t know that it is considered different from almost all other conifers and fossil records for it date back over 200 million years. That makes it a living fossil. I didn’t know that were different selections available. The tree these pictures are from is about 8-9 feet tall and it has planted for about 18 years. It was about 4 feet tall when I bought it so I am thinking this might be the slower growing ‘Jim Cross’ cultivar. Here is a link with some more information:
