Identification: ID this tree please!

Discussion in 'Outdoor Gardening in the Pacific Northwest' started by Frith, May 18, 2010.

  1. Frith

    Frith Member

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    There are several specimens of this growing in a park near my house in Seattle, WA. They are 30' - 40' tall and as wide, umbrella-shaped trees that cast dappled shade.
    The leaves are oval, and the flowers look for all the world like a sweet pea.
    Any ideas greatly appreciated.
     

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  2. Harry Homeowner

    Harry Homeowner Active Member

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    My first thoughts were - Robinia hispida but if they are 30+ feet tall then that is incorrect. It might be Robinia pseudoacacia 'Purple Robe.' Ron will know for sure what it is.
     
  3. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Probably the most common of pink locust trees here now is Purple Robe. Jacobson, TREES OF SEATTLE - SECOND EDITION (2006) mentions that the largest of some Purple Robe in Martin Luther King Jr. Park was 33 1/2' tall (probably measured 2005).

    See his account of Black locust hybrids pp. 222-3.
     
  4. Frith

    Frith Member

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    Thanks for this. The trees are actually the exact ones he mentions - in the MLK park, which is close by my house.
    Fabulous.
     
  5. MarkVIIIMarc

    MarkVIIIMarc Active Member

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    Neat tree. I just spent a few minutes reading about them. One of my neighbors loves locusts and I will forward the name on.

    Frith, were there many visible thorns on the one you saw?
     
  6. Frith

    Frith Member

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    I'll try to remember to look on Monday when I walk by them - don't remember thorns, but the branches are pretty high up. The bark is beautiful though, and I haven't noticed any thorns on the trunks. They are really beautiful trees - maybe I'll post a picture too.
    Frith
     
  7. Frith

    Frith Member

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    MarkVIIIMarc - I didn't see any thorns anywhere on the trees, which are at Walker and Martin L. King Jr Way South, Seattle.
    Frith
     

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    Last edited: May 29, 2010

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