I heard many years ago that the trees planted along Beach Avenue, across from the Sylvia Hotel, are alternating —?— and —?— trees. Maybe elms and beech? Do you happen to know for sure, and how do I identify which is which? Do you happen to know when they were planted? Thank you. I took the accompanying photo October 14, 2016.
I can't believe I can't find a photo of them where I've named them (or any photo for that matter). The city's tree database says Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) and Linden (Tilia x euchlora). The planting dates are not given for those. Those two you can distinguish by the alternate leaves on the maple. The ones with the red fall colouring would be the maples.
Thank you, Wendy. Yes, linden was one; when you supplied the information, I remembered. I don't know who told me about them. I used to do a lot of writing in the Sylvia, about 20 years ago. "Someone" told me the planting was an intentional alternating of, now that you say it, linden x and maple. I did remember they were not native trees, and although I've seen lots of Norway maples, I don't really know how to identify them. Then today I happened to take the picture and I noticed the colours—and I remembered it was an intended effect of long ago. (Fairly long ago, anyway; but I believe I dated a cut Northern Catalpa (by counting the rings) on Nelson Street as approaching a century, and that was a few years ago; so I think the catalpas are roughly 110 or 115 years old now—I'm not sure, but something like that. The Beach Avenue trees are surely younger.) Err…and the windmill palm is a bit younger, and the cell-phone relay tower is just a sapling. . . . Thanks again.
I wonder if the trees were pruned to show that beautiful branching architecture or it is their natural habit of growth?
From the Vancouver Trees App | UBC Botanical Garden (for iPhone or iPad), under Norway and related maples: A guide I was given once mentioned the round lollipop shaped crown, though there are cultivars that are very different. Also, the leaf pedicels are longer than the leaves, and the undersides of the leaves are the same colour as the tops. I usually look for skinny attenuated tips on the lobes, but I think sugar maples might do that too - I don't know that I've read anything that talks about that, so maybe it's not characteristic, but it seems to work as a clue for me.
In addition, Norway maple leaves will be opposite. Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) "...milky sap will ooze from cut veins or petiole."
Regarding the Tilia in that Beach Avenue group, a forum member mentioned as an aside off-list that he thought the lindens were Tilia platyphyllos. The leaves look small on the tree, but they do seem within the range for T. platyphyllos, according to Vancouver Trees App | UBC Botanical Garden, which says 6 to 9 cm across (of course I measured length, but they look to be as wide as they are long). The leaves I handled were from the ground, and they still feel fuzzy; there are definitely lots of hairs on the petioles. 3rd photo is the leaf back, 4th is the top. Would these photos rule out T. x euchlora? Maybe we'll have to wait until next year to get better photos.
That could be Large-leaved Lime, but not fully certain. Caucasian Lime can be excluded, as that has glabrous petioles. Close-up photos of the shoots and buds, taken from both above and below, would help, as would close-ups of the underside of leaves.
I agree with Michael F. Caucasian Lime can be ruled out because lime tree on Beach near the Sylvia Hotel has hairy petioles and also because (1)the underside of the leaf is hairy along the veins and between the veins, (2) some of the leaves are more than 12 cm long--2 cm longer than the maximum length of Caucasian Lime leaves. I am pretty sure the leaves were not glossy green earlier in the season. That would rule out Caucasian Lime as well. Before saying it is Large-leaved Lime (Tilia platyphyllos) I would like to compare the leaves, shoots, flowers, and fruits to trees identified as Large-leaved Lime by Gerald Straley in his book Trees of Vancouver.
