A shrub that I've been wondering about for a while has finally bloomed (only took 2 days of unseasonable rain to do it) and I hope this may make it more possible to ID. The flower is about 5cm in diameter, and smells of roses. In the course of photographing it, I also noticed some spiny fruits, which is what has lead me to suspect it's a chestnut of some sort. I'd only ever seen them as towering trees, though... although I suppose they have to start somewhere. If it is a chestnut, is it an edible one? Thanks in advance for your help, oh experts of the internets!
Sorry, no idea, but definitely not a chestnut! PS been wondering a while . . . what's a Thneed, and why don't I need one?!?
A Thneed is a product made from Truffula trees. To the point of their extinction. Traditionally, a Lorax speaks for the Truffula trees, as they have no voices of their own... I was speaking for elm trees in Canada, but they cut them down anyway, so I lifted myself to Ecuador, where I'm speaking for Romerillos (podocarpus), among others. However, as I'm in a totally new biome, there's a steep learning curve regarding the local trees. There are close to 500 cultivars of varying species on the property I live on, and I recognize perhaps 10% of them, mostly the bananas. For more information on the original Lorax, see: "Who Lifted The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss... it's probably out of print, but they have it on Amazon.com.
Annato? Very cool! All of the pictures I can find suggest that's definitely it. Thank you, David in LA!
Thanks! Still baffled, though . . . no real idea what "Dr. Seuss" is (I know it's something American, but nothing more than that) But really good that someone is working to protect Podocarps! You'll have to start a thread on that ;-)
