January, 2022 and February in the garden - bark as art

Discussion in 'Talk about UBC Botanical Garden' started by wcutler, Jan 21, 2022.

  1. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    "Bark as Art" is not really the title of Douglas Justice's January in the Garden 2022 - UBC Botanical Garden blog article, but I have titled a few of my flickr galleries (collections of other people's photos) with that name. So it wasn't for lack of interest that it has taken me most of January to get myself out to the garden. Having to be out the gate by 2pm hasn't helped any.

    Douglas wrote the article in mid-December, and started by mentioning what might still be in bloom "as long as it doesn't freeze hard". Well, if you're from around here, you know that it froze hard. Here is the Viburnum x bodnantense 'Charles Lamont' on the entrance plaza. There are only two open flowers but lots of buds, and it's fragrant. The Bodnant viburnums where I live in the West End have dead flowers for sure, but they have a lot of open flowers as well and are very showy now.
    Viburnum x bodnantense 'Charles Lamont'_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_121416.jpg
    On the other side of the Reception Centre, the Mahonia x media 'Charity' has reverted to its original name, but it has lost most of its flowers.
    MahoniaXmediaCharity_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_121839.jpg MahoniaXmediaCharity_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_121740.jpg

    The Edgeworthia chrysantha seems to be doing well for this time of year, though some of the buds are looking a little sad.
    Edgeworthia-chrysantha_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_122823.jpg

    Now on to bark. Examples of fibrous bark are
    Taiwania cryptomerioides, Thuja plicata
    Taiwania-cryptomerioides_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_123826.jpg Thuja-plicata_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_123712.jpg
    and Cupressus glabra 'Silver Smoke' (Arizona cypress, syn. Cupressus arizonica subsp. glabra)
    Cupressus glabra 'Silver Smoke'_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_132536.jpg Cupressus glabra 'Silver Smoke'_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_132545.jpg Cupressus glabra 'Silver Smoke'_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_132512.jpg

    I'll be back later with some green bark - I'm off to a (virtual) dance.
     
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  2. togata57

    togata57 Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    ?
    Does one pirouette alone in one's parlor...or does this activity involve a giant headset...?

    Thanks for these photos. Nice reminder that life goes on---cheering here in snowy Ohio where temp will sink to 6F/-14C tonight!
    I like the lichen and fluffy green moss, cohabiting friends, on the branches of the lovely viburnum.
     
  3. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Yes, or kitchens seem to work to for some people.

    Here's the Ginkgo biloba, which I was probably going to forget to post.
    Ginkgo-biloba_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_134233.jpg Ginkgo-biloba_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_134343.jpg

    I'm going back to the second half of the dance now.
     
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  4. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    I'm back now. That was a lovely dance - my friends in Seattle were playing, three of them in the same living room, with dancers and musicians from around the US and British Columbia doing their own parlour or kitchen thing. Scandinavian music.

    Douglas devoted a paragraph to bark that remains green and photosynthetic, particularly featuring snake-bark maples. The only one he mentioned that I found, because I can easily recognize it in the Carolinian Forest Garden, is Acer pensylvanicum.
    Acer pensylvanicum_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_131814.jpg Acer pensylvanicum_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_131838.jpg Acer pensylvanicum_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_131903.jpg Acer pensylvanicum_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_131934.jpg

    I didn't find the other snake-barks that were mentioned, so maybe these will do. Here is what I've posted previously and is still on Garden Explorer as Acer davidii, though it has a red tag now that says Acer aff. davidii.
    Acer-aff-davidii_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_124959.jpg Acer-aff-davidii_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_125028.jpg Acer-aff-davidii_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_125039.jpg Acer-aff-davidii_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_125049.jpg

    I've been enjoying watching this Acer maximowiczii grow for three years now.
    Acer-maximowiczii_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_125835.jpg Acer-maximowiczii_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_125851.jpg

    This Acer pectinatum is new to me, and I thought I was posting it instead of the other snake-barks that were mentioned, but I see that a synonym for Acer maximowiczii is A. pectinatum subsp. maximowiczii, and the two I did not find are also shown in Garden Explorer with A. pectinatum subsp. synonym names.
    Acer-pectinatum_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_123405.jpg Acer-pectinatum_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_123438.jpg Acer-pectinatum_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_123549.jpg

    If you're interested in the snake-bark maples at UBCBG, there's a paper about them at https://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/attachments/snakebark_maples-pdf.789/.

    Here is A. serrulatum, syn. Acer oliverianum subsp. formosanum. It's in the Palmata group, not Macrantha with the snake-barks.
    Acer-serrulatum_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_130426.jpg Acer-serrulatum_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_130434.jpg Acer-serrulatum_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_130511.jpg
     
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  5. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    From now on I'm riffing on the theme, as I didn't find any more of the trees mentioned in the blog, but there's lots of bark to be seen! :)
    I think the Metasequoia glyptostroboides fits into the corky category.
    Metasequoia-glyptostroboides_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_132208.jpg Metasequoia-glyptostroboides_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_132220.jpg

    I'm moving on from function to art, though I guess a lot could be said about the function of thin papery bark. Here is Heptacodium miconioides, in the Caprifoliaceae family.
    Heptacodium-midonioides_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_125233.jpg Heptacodium-midonioides_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_125246.jpg
    I recognized that from the bark, BUT I thought this next one near it was the same, but it's not. This is Dipelta floribunda, in the same family though. The peeling bark is very soft, not brittle at all. I posted the flowers in 2013 at May 9, 2013 - more little flowers and I mentioned the bark at the time, but I didn't remember anything about it.
    Dipelta-floribunda_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_125314.jpg Dipelta-floribunda_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_125340.jpg Dipelta-floribunda_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_125350.jpg Dipelta-floribunda_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_125414.jpg

    Here is some peeling bark on Rhododendron barbatum. The grove looks pretty cool without the distraction of leaves and flowers.
    Rhododendron-barbatum_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_125934.jpg Rhododendron-barbatum_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_125926.jpg Rhododendron-barbatum_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_125959.jpg
     
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  6. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Moving on to mottled bark, here is Rhododendron thomsonii.
    Rhododendron-thomsonii_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_124913.jpg Rhododendron-thomsonii_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_124928.jpg

    This is Stewartia pseudocamellia Koreana Group.
    Stewartia-pseudocamellia-Koreana-Group_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_133723.jpg Stewartia-pseudocamellia-Koreana-Group_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_133742.jpg Stewartia-pseudocamellia-Koreana-Group_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_133732.jpg
    And Stewartia sinensis.
    Stewartia-sinensis_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_122716.jpg Stewartia-sinensis_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_122707.jpg Stewartia-sinensis_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_122652.jpg

    Here is Lagerstroemia subcostata var. fauriei on the entrance plaza.
    Lagerstroemia subcostata var. fauriei_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_121514.jpg Lagerstroemia subcostata var. fauriei_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_121553.jpg Lagerstroemia subcostata var. fauriei_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_121603.jpg

    I photographed this Phyllostachys edulis bamboo because the sun was shining on it!
    Phyllostachys edulis_UBCBG_Cutler_20220120_124624.jpg
     
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  7. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Beautiful! The next best thing to seeing all those trees and shrubs for myself. Thanks.
     
  8. AlainK

    AlainK Renowned Contributor Forums Moderator Maple Society 10 Years

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    I went for a short walk bearing this thread in mind, but I didn't find anything as spectacular as the photos you took.
    But here's a weeping willow, a Sequoia sempervirens and an Acer triflorum :

    salix-bab_220124a.jpg seq-semp_220124b.jpg acer-trifol_220124a.jpg

    I also have a Pseudocydonia sinensis (Chinese quince) that shows an interesting bark :

    pseudocyd_220124a.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2022
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  9. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Douglas Justice is still doing bark in his February in the Garden 2022 - UBC Botanical Garden blog. Several of the trees he mentioned in the February blog were ones I posted above. I recommend checking out the photos in the blog. For instance, check out the Eucalyptus coccifera (Kunanyi or Mt. Wellington peppermint) photos, and be sure to click the Load More button.
     
  10. AlainK

    AlainK Renowned Contributor Forums Moderator Maple Society 10 Years

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    I spotted a Dipelta floribunda, and took photos of a Ginkgo.
    One is peeling off, the other one seems to be melting...

    IMG_9491-b.jpg IMG_9497-b.jpg IMG_9498-b.jpg
     
  11. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    On Douglas Justice's members walk this evening, he told me that label is wrong, and it's Acer forrestii, possibly hybridized with something else.
     

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