Apparently they get their name from the Greek words melas meaning black and leucas meaning white, because in the bush fires of Australia their trunks would be blackened while the upper branches remained white. Needless to say, the Palisade's ones are neither black nor white but I find their strange, twisted bark incredibly sculptural:
Apart from the wonderful shapes these trees make, they also cause wonderful shadows:
The rhythmical, compex flow of their lines brings to (my) mind some of Leonardo's studies of the movement of water:
Now this one- contrary to what I said earlier- is quite black, but from age rather than fire I guess:
I am often surprized how trees with extra-tough looking bark can produce delicate flowers. The Pink Melaleuka has a profusion of these charming little pink or lilac "pom-poms":
These result in strange cone-like clusters of seeds:
For those who don't know Palisades Park, it is high up on the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean, which often forms a backdrop for the trees:
If you are there around sunset, you can catch them with the reflective glow:
And then if you turn West towards the Ocean you will find the shapes of the Melaleucas making endless "windows" through which to see both sun and sea:
2 comments:
I think you have posted pictures of two different genera of trees. The Pink melaleuca has papery bark and the pretty pink flowers that look like Pom-poms, that you have shown.
You have also included photos of a tree with fascinating furrowed bark and contorted branches. This is a different genus. it is probably a Leptospermum laevigatum, Australian Tea Tree. (I say ‘probably’ because I can’t see the whole tree nor fine details like the leaves or flowers. I’m just going on the tortured looking low lying branches.) It has small white flowers with 5 round petals. Both are indigenous to Australia. Both are members of the Myrtaceae family along with Eucalypts and Callistemons and lots more.
Australia is home to some 200 species of Melaleucas. There are a few tropical species to be found north of Australia (about 8 I think) and it was from one of these outside of Australia, that the gave the genus its name, by Carolus Linnaeus, in 1767.
Yes, trees are wonderful. I love the shapes that bark forms, when shed from Eucalypts. Some pieces curl up tightly and some loosely, and the inside colour is diff from the outside. Some bark is shed in long strips, and some in short stumpy bits, some is thick and some thin. The patterns that are left on the trunk, by bark shed at different times, enthral me, they are every shape possible, plus, every possible shade and hue of browns and greys with pinks and greens and tans and reds thrown in.
I think you have posted pictures of two different genera of trees. The Pink melaleuca has papery bark and the pretty pink flowers that look like Pom-poms, that you have shown.
You have also included photos of a tree with fascinating furrowed bark and contorted branches. This is a different genus. it is probably a Leptospermum laevigatum, Australian Tea Tree. (I say ‘probably’ because I can’t see the whole tree nor fine details like the leaves or flowers. I’m just going on the tortured looking low lying branches.) It has small white flowers with 5 round petals. Both are indigenous to Australia. Both are members of the Myrtaceae family along with Eucalypts and Callistemons and lots more.
Australia is home to some 200 species of Melaleucas. There are a few tropical species to be found north of Australia (about 8 I think) and it was from one of these outside of Australia, that the gave the genus its name, by Carolus Linnaeus, in 1767.
Yes, trees are wonderful. I love the shapes that bark forms, when shed from Eucalypts. Some pieces curl up tightly and some loosely, and the inside colour is diff from the outside. Some bark is shed in long strips, and some in short stumpy bits, some is thick and some thin. The patterns that are left on the trunk, by bark shed at different times, enthral me, they are every shape possible, plus, every possible shade and hue of browns and greys with pinks and greens and tans and reds thrown in.
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