Sunday, March 01, 2009

Cry Baby Tree



Common Coral Tree
Erythrina lysistemon
(er-ith-RY-nuh)
Synonyms: Cry Baby Tree, Lucky Bean Tree

Heavenly Bamboo
Nandina domestica
(nan-DEE-nuh)

These pictures were taken with my VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED lens. So far I like it although Karen has been hogging it for her D80. The first tree is really beautiful. It started to bloom when we first arrived n San Diego and by the time we left it was in really in full bloom. The color of the flowers was amazing to me.

The Heavenly Bamboo had a lot of berries or really nice ‘fall’ color wherever we saw it. I guess some people consider this plant invasive but that isn’t true in Connecticut. It barely lives in Zone 6 and often finishes up the year a little tattered. I don't think it is considered a true bamboo.

We made it to Little Rock in a snowstorm (probably considered a lot for around here) and a lot of wind. You had to keep both hands on the wheel! We have decided to slow pedal home since 10 inches of snow and a lot of wind (see a theme for this trip?) are expected in Connecticut Monday.

4 comments:

Les said...

Do you know why it is called the Cry Baby Tree? I really would like to know.

ChrisJ said...

We have the heavenly bamboo bush in our back yard and I'm glad it is invasive -- if it is. I love its red leaflets and delicate branching.

We also have a lot of coral trees in Carlsbad, which is not far from San Diego.

Glad you had nice weather.

Digital Flower Pictures said...

Hi Chris, we did have a wonderful time. Carlsbad was nice, your lucky.

Les, I am not sure where the common name comes from. Two different sources gave two different answers. One said it weeps sap and the other said it is because it had thorns.

Anonymous said...

It's called a cry baby because it has thorns on it's trunk. When young children try to climb it will stick them, hence cry baby.