Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life. – Marcus Aurelius
Can you tell which image is the Salvador Dali?
If you said the one on the right, then you are correct. That’s Dali’s Persistence of Memory. On the left is the mostly dead tree, the Indifference of Memory.
Mostly dead tree
Mostly dead tree is only half the tree she used to be, after a rather aggressive pruning. Yes, she is a girl, note the seed pods: a clear indicator. She has to come down soon: she’s mostly rotting. Initially I was told that she’s a boxelder. She met all the criteria for a boxelder except for three: flowers, seed pods, and bugs. That’s where Elizabeth Taylor comes in.
Perusing Amazon to stream a video I came across Elizabeth Taylor’s 1957 movie Raintree County, also starring Montgomery Cliff, who I feel was always too “tortured” for my taste. James Dean he was not.
flowers
seed pods
Mystery solved thanks to Liz Taylor’s movie: mostly dead tree is agolden rain tree, Koelreuteria paniculata. When trying to identify a tree, search the seed (pod) database(s) early on in your investigation. Just a suggestion. And the bugs? Boxelders have their own bug called, imaginatively enough, the ” boxelder bug”. The golden rain tree has its own bug (guess the name) which is often mistaken for the boxelder bug.
Okay, this is not in the purview of a Sherlock Holmes or Agent Pendergast investigation. What does all this mean for golden rain tree? Nothing. She still has to come down before she dumps a load of branches on me as I sit drinking my morning coffee.
**********
Join me next time for a review on crystal soil water beads and your houseplants and what they wreaked on my lucky bamboo. Don’t know who Agent Pendergast is? Stop by the website of authors Preston and Child.
the EXCESSIVE GARDENER 