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Miscellaneous Debris => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: DaleReid on May 15, 2022, 12:29:48 PM
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For over a decade a bunch of us intrepid ham radio guys would load up into a few vans and head to Dayton, OH, for the Hamvention when it was still at Hara Arena. After a long day of walking around we would head over to a few known restaurants that would have a brandy old fashion and a treat of a good pork chop or steak. They seemed to be somewhere west of the arena and since I was a passenger and not paying close attention, can't really the neighborhoods we drove through, but nice places with more wooded than open spaces.
Along the way we almost always were there at the time of year when things were blooming and blossoming, and I'd see a small flat tree like thing, maybe a few feet to as much as 15' tall, spread out not vertical like a pine. I never was able to get real close to one, but it seemed that they had tons of a purplish/bluish flower on them. We have something called plum brush up here, along with some larger flowered crabs that get very colorful, but nothing like this blue/purple color.
Despite asking so many times I got tired of asking, no one seemed to know what they were. How they could not see something that pretty is beyond me, but different things in people's lives, I guess.
In some ways it was a bit like the redbud that is so pretty, but also rare, over near Rochester, Minnesota this time of year. We asked one guy at Mayo groundskeeping about them and he said they are not all over Rochester, but only in a few areas where I guess they are protected from harsher winter stuff and the ground is just what they like. One guy said he's tried growing them a few times and they always die. My experience here with redbuds, too. A couple years and gone.
Anyway, is there anyone in the Dayton area who has seen this bush? Do you know what it is? I used to think that I'd be able to go down one more time to the big Hamvention, even if it wasn't at Hara (which I think is long gone) and would make a point of not leaving until I got the name of the plant. Well, it appears this won't ever happen, but I still thought it might. Along with one more trip to the Air Force Museum, it was worth the long drive and expensive of the room.
If you've got a hint as to what this might be, please let me know. The internet is great at finding things if you know the name and I can see if it is anything like what I recall seeing if I can look it up.
Thanks for any hints. Dale
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Dale from "but it seemed that they had tons of a purplish/bluish flower on them. " it almost seems like you are describing a Jacaranda tree.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2020/nov/01/jacaranda-trees-in-bloom-photographs-from-guardian-australia-readers (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2020/nov/01/jacaranda-trees-in-bloom-photographs-from-guardian-australia-readers)
Dries
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No, smaller trees and smaller blossoms, but holy cow what a tree that is!
And the dog seems smitten by the petals, too.
I will look up more on this tree. Absolutely amazing. Stunning.
Dale
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The jacaranda trees are gorgeous when they're in your neighbors yard where you an enjoy them. I had two massive ones right next to my house in Mexico and while pretty to observe they're a nuisance. The blossoms fall creating a purple carpet after blooming and they're slightly sticky when you step on them and track into the house. The leaves are almost fern like and have a stem with many small leaves on each stem. Each May I'd take 50 gal trash bags to the roof and rake the roof to dispose of the residue. Yes, they're pretty, but not in my yard!
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Something like this? Sorry, don't know how to make the link less obnoxious..
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-boPIPzGitZE/WkYe1NY-bqI/AAAAAAAANEM/_cgEUyZD1QcRjoCPv1xqDlRIm2KQTQgDQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/Pink%2BFlowering%2BDogwood%2BTree%2Bon%2Bsale%2B%257C%2BPink%2BDogwood%2BTrees%2Bfor%2BSale%2B...-751172.jpg
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The shape and size of the tree you show is perfect, but the color of the buds/blossoms/flowers was very bluish purple. Otherwise pretty much like you show.
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You might be able to get some information from OSU Extension Service (https://extension.osu.edu/ask-an-expert).
While hiking the NC/SC National Forests, I have often found abandoned homesteads that had plants that I was unable to identify. In every case the NC State or USC Extension service "Identify this plant" expert was able to help.
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Ironically, this article about an app that identifies unknown plants using a smartphone app and camera was on one of our regional news web sites just yesterday:
https://hudsonvalleypost.com/hudson-valley-residents-can-now-identify-mysterious-plants/ (https://hudsonvalleypost.com/hudson-valley-residents-can-now-identify-mysterious-plants/)
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If you have an Android Phone or even Chrome Browser, you can use Google Lens to identify just about anything you can imaging.
https://lens.google/ (https://lens.google/)