Any botanists on ES? Help identify some plants and trees...

[amberwolf]

It is mostly for my curiosity, rather than necessity. I have many new trees and such this year, which I have been transplanting from ones growing under some other older trees, presumably from seeds dropped by birds taht roost in those older trees. I've tried to identify them via online photo searches, but I get lost when comparing them to pics I see--either they look like way too many others for me to figure out which they are, or they look like nothing I could find, or are just different enough taht I can't be sure.

Some of the trees I first thought were the same, as this spring most of them had the same green "berries" on them, which looked like unripe mulberries, just like a gigantic old tree we had at my old house over a decade ago, which shaded half of the house! I would love these to be like that, although they will take a long time to reach that size even if they are mulberries. But now, the leaves on some of them are very different than others; a couple look similar but are a very much darker green of a different shade, some have notched leaves and some elliptical, some are a combination of both.


So below are a bunch of pics of the leaves of various trees and plants; I can get better pics of the whole thing or most any individual feature, if they are needed.

The only plant I'm certain of is Lantana, which you cna probably see in backgrounds of some pics; the ones I have my hand on in each pic are the ones I'm trying to identify. The only tree I am certain of is the orange tree, in DSC07035.JPG (old growth limbs on tree) and DSC07038.JPG (new growth limbs at base of tree that started earlier this year).


Part of why i want to know is also because I know some plants and trees can be grown from cuttings, like Lantana, and some require growing from seeds (or transplanting whole plants with intact root systems). I am especially curious if the tree types in DSC07019, DSC07022, and DSC07028 could be cut at the base and transplanted, rather than having to dig up the whole rootball. I have two of them that have grown up in bad places right up at the house wall. I would rather not jjust cut them down, and digging a hole large enough to get enough roots to survive fi they require that would be a major undertaking. If I could cut them and move them, it would be best. I expect that isn't the case, and I'll ahve to dig up the rootball. The hard part willbe the taproot, as I don't think I can dig deep enough to get much of that, and most trees Iv'e moved that required cutting it died. SOme survived, but took quite a while to recover from it.

I also have a whole bunch of those trees as little seedlings and saplings, under the (I think) fir tree in front of my "new" bedroom, which can be moved more easily, but even there many of them have roots entangled with the big tree, and will require cutting roots to move them. The only way I can move any of them bigger than tiny seedlings is to wash the dirt away from the roots and trace them with my hands under the water, loosening them a little at at ime until I can pull them gently free of entanglements, or cut them when they are too deeply so. No way can I dig out the rootball even partly intact with soil around it.

Any tips at all on keeping that from being a fatal shock to them would be appreciated. I already moved several smaller seedlings successfully, but a few of those didn't make it (possibly because of the summer heat, and the shock of moving from a shaded area to one with mcuh mroe sunlight, as well as probalby different soil).


Also, one plant I want ot find a way to eradicate completely, including the seeds/thorns it has already spread around, is in DSC07035. It is evil, as it grows short but very hard thorny seeds that go right thru leather gloves, shoes, tires, paws, etc. It is the paws being injured that causes the eradication requirement; I could live with all the other problems but not with the dogs being hurt by them constantly.

Pics attached below:

 

[Philistine]

I am not a botanist, my interest in plants is limited to a few very special ones, but the 12th photo down (DSC07027.JPG (50.55 KiB) Viewed 2 times) is a Eucalyptus (or Gum Tree as we in Australia call them). It is an Australian native tree (the Koala lives in them and survives purely on their leaves), and the oil is useful as an anti-septic, and is used to make a polarising kind of cough lolly (polarising as in you either love them or hate them).

 

[dogman dan]

7017 looks like a mulberry seedling. Since the 60's most mulberry trees are male, producing all the pollen problems. But older trees are the fruiting kind, and the birds will plant the seeds under their roosts.

24 looks a lot different, but I think it's still mulberry based on how the bark on the twigs looks. Some of those deeply lobed ones may produce more normal looking leaves when they are less water stressed.

The seedlings you have would produce the fruit if grown, then result in the purple bird shit staining your entire property. So not the very most desireable tree. Big water user too. But if you do try to move any, now is not the time. Do it in December when they are dormant.



22 and 28 I can't tell what it is. Could be baby eucalyptus, but looks like it could even be a sprout of a fruit tree like plum or peach. If fruit, it won't grow well because those kinds of trees are grafted to sturdier root varieties. Eucalyptus would freeze and die here at 4000' so I have no experience with it. Russian olive is another possibility, but the leaves don't look the right color to me for that. Juvenile enough, leaves can look very different from adult trees. Could be a shrub I'm not familiar with.

Identifying by leaf is not exact, but most of those pics are mulberry tree. Leaf shape can be anything from oval to the spiky lobes due to seed variation and enviroment. Mulberry generally looks tri lobed similar to 5 lobed maple leaves.

I don't know the name of the weed in 16. No pretty flower so just mow them. Or easily pull after a big rain.

18 looks like purslane, a weed. Edible but yuk. Relatively harmless except for crowding what you'd rather have. A similar looking plant with darker shiny greed leaves is called khaki weed, and does have irritating little microscopic seeds that will get all through a dogs fur. But that looks like just purslane to me.

35 is good ol goatheads. Evil for sure. Best controll is weeding early before the seeds form. Getting just the crown is ok, you don't have to get the entire root.

37 is nut grass. Considered a very noxious weed in crop fields, in lawns it's more just annoying. Nearly impossible to get rid of, because the "nuts" have to be killed or removed, and they are up to 12" deep. Hardest grass weed to get rid of on the planet. Roundup barely bothers it if you try to get rid of it growing in sidewalks or driveway concrete cracks.

Can't think of the name of 48 at the moment. Flowering native plant up to 3-4' tall in the variety local to me. Much shorter if water is limited or soil that bad. Not really thorny so could be allowed to grow even though most would call it a weed.

 

[The fingers]

Not a botanist, but ran a golf course many years ago.

#7016 looks like Gopher Purge, but is most likely a common harmless weed which resembles it, and has aquired the name because of the similar appearance.

#7037 appears to be nutgrass/nutsedge, pesky landscape weed, hard to control.

#7035 most likely goats head thorn, almost as bad for dogs as foxtails, well known bicycle flat tire cause; cut off manually (with a hoe) before they produce loose seeds or you might have problems. Also, when removed, you might try and drag a piece of old carpet over the area to pick up any loose thorns and throw it away.

#7027 Eucalyptus trees can sprout from seeds on their own (volunteer), or you can sprout them yourself. The seeds are very small (like ground pepper) and can be shaken from ripe seed pods onto a piece of paper. The seeds will grow if you baby them by sprouting in a flat with sand covered by a very thin layer and misting them with a fogger nozzle 2x daily in full sun. The seedlings look like grass when they first come out. Then you need to periodically thin and transplant them into small 2" then 4" containers several times as they grow. Put larger seedlings (at 4" high or so) into 5 gal containers, then when large enough (12" high or so) re-pot saplings into 15 gal containers and wait to plant in the ground until they are around 3 ft tall and you have a good location for them. You don't want one too near the house or cars, they can blow over in a storm. Keeping it well trimmed can help prevent this as well as broken branches. Largest varieties are used as windbreaks and on golf courses. Good for firewood and largest pieces can be split properly.

#7019 might be a eucalyptus volunteer, after putting some dirt in the bottom shovel it into a 5 gal container, along with the grass in one piece so as not to kill the seedling. Back fill and water right away. Wait to see if the leaves match the parent tree as it grows, then you can decide if you want to keep it. Try not to weed out the grass now or it might not survive being put in a container.

Eucalyptus trees in the US used to be quite pest free, but in the last 20 years, psyllids (leaf sucking scale type insects) have been apearing in some areas, causing leaves to drop along with excessive sap mist, so not a good place to park your car underneath either. Call or visit your County Agriculture Agent for details on pests in your area, specific varieties of trees and weeds you may have, and the best and most up to date local advice available.