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| Billie Silvey |
| Trees in Los Angeles |
| July 2007 |
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| Some people, when they think of Los Angeles, think of freeways, tall buildings and empty spaces paved over to make parking lots--hard surfaces that reflect the sun. But one of the first things I noticed was all the green, especially trees, of varieties I hadn’t known in the Panhandle of Texas. There are a lot of trees in Los Angeles, and we're planting more every day. In fact, the mayor has instituted a project to plant a million new trees. Here are some of my favorites: Palm--An early memory of trees was the Promenade, a shaded walkway bordered by palm trees on the old campus at Pepperdine Univeristy. Tall and slender, squat and fat, palms may be the trees most associated with Los Angeles. |
| Pines--When we lived on 79th Street, much of the street was shaded by large pine trees. The needles and pine cones they dropped were a source of endless fascination for our young children. I still keep a basket of pine cones in my living room. There is a wide variety of pine trees in Los Angeles. |
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| Jacaranda--Perhaps the most beautiful and striking trees at Pepperdine were the jacaranda lining the sidewalk in front of the main campus. In the spring, they bloomed a lilac haze. At night, by the light of the blue-toned streetlamps, their glow was almost iridescent. Like most of us in Los Angeles, they aren't natives. They come from Brazil. |
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| Avocado--Our backyard on 79th Street was dominated by a massive avocado tree. It made a terrible mess--dropping leaves and overripe avocados, which burst on the bricks below much of the year. But it also gave us large, creamy fruit for sandwiches and salads and the major ingredient for guacamole, to dress up Mexican food and hamburgers. |
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| Citus--Los Angeles is known for its citrus trees. Our next-door neighbors on 79th, the Buntons, had a lemon tree which supplied tart lemons for lemonade and to squeeze on salads, vegetables and fish and shellfish. We now have a fragrant grapefruit tree in our backyard. And orange groves, both north and south of the city, gave their name to nearby Orange County. |
| Coral--Broad, spreading coral trees are another beauty of Los Angeles, with their bright red-orange blossoms. They came from Central and South America. I enjoy a couple of prize specimens on my daily commute to and from work. |
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| Eucalyptus--Another import, this time from Australia, is the tall, spindly eucalyptus with its ragged bark and long, slender leaves. Their numbers were thinned in a recent outbreak of blight, a warning against the attractive uniform rows of a single species that characterize many of our streets. |
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| Liquid Amber--In the fall, our most beautiful and striking tree is the liquid amber. Its leaves turn from green to pink, rose, red and rich purple shades. |
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| Coast Live Oak--especially in the hills and valleys just north of us, we see the Coast Live Oaks. A native species, they often appear, spreading wide and thick, at the top of a hill. |
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| Joshua--Perhaps the strangest tree in the area is the Joshua tree that flourishes in the high desert. Early settlers in California expected to see palm trees, so they misnamed their settlement Palmdale for the spindly and strange-looking Joshua trees. |
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