Web cam images may not always be of the best quality, but it's fun to spot certain plant species, especially trees. Sometimes you have to revisit the site over a series of seasons to confirm a species' identity. Here is an example: The Lake Arrowhead WebCam is in the mountains of southern California and its image features non-native trees in the foreground. Behind the McDonald's is a specimen of Liriodendron tulipifera. Liquidambar styraciflua, very distinctive in autumn, shades the nearby stairway and driveway. Prunus cerasifera var. atropurpurea can also be recognized. Pinus ponderosa used to be king of the forests around Lake Arrowhead, but many have been lost due to a combination of drought, insect outbreaks and ozone poisoning. The majority of healthy conifers in the background appear to be Calocedrus decurrens and possibly Abies concolor. Any trees among them which turn yellow in autumn are most likely Quercus kelloggii. Cornus nuttallii flowers are seen in the heading. This species -- Western Flowering Dogwood or Pacific Dogwood to us -- is usually called Mountain Dogwood in California. -Tony
A related topic . . . trees in films . . . I remember seeing 'Robin Hood' (Errol Flynn) climbing in what looked very like a Liriodendron . . . one of them in Sherwood Forest in the late Middle Ages would be quite a surprise!
Another Liriodendron appears to be on display at Guntersville, Alabama. As of 10 September 2007, it was already showing autumn colors. Large areas of Alabama and neighbouring states are in exceptional drought which is producing evidence of plant stress. -Tony
For a real challenge . . . identifying trees on Google Earth . . . Here's the famous Lebanon Cedars Cedrus libani at Bsharre, Lebanon And the ancient Dragon Tree Dracaena draco at Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife (ringed in red)
On looking at our own place on Google Earth I've found that conifers don't show up well, I think because the focal range doesn't allow them to be shown in any dimension. So much of their presence is in their height, and that just doesn't show up. Deciduous, or at least spreading, trees might be more recognizable.
Scouts hunting down cherry trees for the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival were excited this year to discover some of our trees in the Google Satellite Map. See this UBC Neighbourhood posting for an example of some trees and a link to them on the map. It was a bit of luck that the Google photography was done in the spring (or did they actually think of doing it when the blossoms would make the trees visible? - nah, get a grip, they weren't doing it for us). The images are (always?) two or three years old, for some particular reason that I don't remember, but it had something to do with privacy or another non-technical issue.
Might be a connection between shadowy (light-absorbing) appearance of conifers and them not showing up as well from the air - the don't show up as well as light-reflecting broadleaf trees and shrubs on the ground either. One of the reasons these last are preferable for planting in most ordinary situations in suitable climates.
