Alabama Botanizing

 
There are a lot of plants down here that I'm not familiar with at all.

Crepe myrtle trees (Lagerstroemia sp.) are planted everywhere! They seem to be the primary landscaping tree. They are often mentioned in fiction books set in the south, but I didn't know what they look like. Now I do! I've seen dark pink, light pink and white blossoms. They are a small, multi-trunked tree.


The bark is light gray and sheds throughout the year resulting in a mottled appearance. It's quite attractive.



Flowers are in a large panicle at the end of the branch. I think the main flowering season was past because there were only occasional blooms and people tell me the trees are covered with blossoms at the right time of year.



The plant was brought from China and Korea around 1790, and now has hundreds of cultivars with great variety. The petals are all crinkled like crepe paper, hence the name.



This evening we went to another house to pick up a few more of Loretta's boxes. While there, the owner asked me if I was familiar with the red buckeye (Aesculus pavia). I was not. I'd never even heard of it. It's another species in the same genus as the Ohio Buckeye and the Horsechestnut. It was already dark, so I didn't get a picture of the tree, but it's much smaller than its cousins.

The buckeyes grow 2-4 in a pod. This one has three.



While the Ohio Buckeye is a much darker brown, you can see how rich and reddish these look. I'm keeping a couple to see how they dry. A bowl full would be a pretty decoration.



We did more eating out with friends, and visiting. Also did some shopping for clothes for Loretta. I'm not much of a shopper, but it was fun to help her search some sale racks for things she would like, and she got several very pretty tops for very little money!

	See Horsechestnut
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