Tree ID?

[siderea]

Anyone happen to know what sort of trees the white flowering ones lining both sides of the bike path through Seven Hills Park (behind Davis Sq. T, theater-side) are?

Comments

[ocschwar.livejournal.com]

Lindens?

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

Lindens don't have leaves on them yet.

[artemii.livejournal.com]

trees don't have to be leafed out to have flowers.

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

Linden's flower very late. I have two and they are still totally bare. Linden's have a very small cluster and shoot off a very light green flower/leaf or two before going to berry.

[tendertalons.livejournal.com]

maybe dogwoods?

[nowalmart.livejournal.com]

I have not seen the trees in question in a while, but there are a ton of dogwood trees in and around the area, so it would not surprise me if they were dogwoods.

[siderea]

For the longest time, I thought that they were. But a friend pointed out to me that dogwoods are so called because of the characteristic "dogtooth bite" mark on dogwood "petals": see http://www.floridata.com/ref/C/cornus_f.cfm Note also that the "petals" (which, the internet tells me, aren't technically flower petals, but something called "bracts") are a even number, and one such set of of bracts is an inflorescence.

The flowers on the tree in question are, in contrast, much smaller than dogwood flowers, don't have bite marks, have five petals per flower, and the flowers grow together in corymb inflorescences (bunches :) of about 20, plus or minus a lot.

[push-stars.livejournal.com]

Maybe Bradford flowering pears we have a lot of those around here, they sort of look like white cherry blossoms..

Almost certainly Bradford pears

[lesliet-ma.livejournal.com]

I haven't been over there lately, but I'd be willling to bet they're Bradford pears, which have been a very popular tree for street-side planting over the past 10 years or so. They're not likely to be dogwoods, which don't do well as street trees, and are not in bloom in the Boston area quite yet.

Link to more info

[lesliet-ma.livejournal.com]

Here's a link (http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/frederick/2002/bradford_pears.htm)to more information about Bradford Pears, including a picture.

Re: Link to more info

[siderea]

That's it! We have a winner.

I would not have thought them pear trees, since I've never seen them make pears.

Fruits are small and inconspicuous

[lesliet-ma.livejournal.com]

Here's another link (http://www.pssc.ttu.edu/pss1411cd/PLANTID/pear/pear.htm) to a site which has a picture of the fruit (if you scroll down), which look like little cherries and are only 1/2" across. Not at all like the edible pears you are used to seeing.

Re: Fruits are small and inconspicuous

[siderea]

Hah! Since last we spoke, I found another such tree on a side street, which did have those little fruits. But the ones in Seven Hill Park don't seem to have them. I wonder why that is.

[ah42.livejournal.com]

Davis Sq. trees are a couple weeks ahead of me due to the weather differences, but I'd still offer a guess of some form of flowering cherry.

[artemii.livejournal.com]

flowering cherries/ornamental cherries are more often pink flowering than white, though.

i agree with lesliet_ma that they're likely bradford pears.

Pears vs cherries

[lesliet-ma.livejournal.com]

Cherries can be pink or white; Bradford pears are always white.

Here are a few distinguishing features.

First, take a look at the over-all shape. (Look at the picture of the Bradford pear on the first link I posted.)The Bradford pear tree usually has a lot of straight branches shooting out from the trunk and gives an overall impression of being stiff and vertical.

Then take a look at the bark. The bark of a cherry tree tends to be smooth and glossy, with short little horizontal marks called lenticels. If you see prominent lenticels, it's almost certainly a cherry. (Although if you don't see them, it's not proof that it's not.)

Re: Pears vs cherries

[artemii.livejournal.com]

yep, i know cherries can be pink or what. what i meant was that the ones planted by cities are usually pink.

Re: Pears vs cherries

[artemii.livejournal.com]

oops, that should be pink or WHITE. :)

[ah42.livejournal.com]

I am of the opinion that many "white" flowers (tree, perennial, etc) aren't actually white, just varying paleness of pink, some to the degree that you can't tell. If you notice the buds before they fully swell and open, often times, the colour is richer at that point.

One of the problems with Bradfords, from a landscaping P.O.V. is that they drop their leaves so much later than everything else. I just did the fall cleanup on some Bradfords last week, because they finally dropped them in the snow back in January. We're actually going to be replacing those (and they're not 10 years old) soon, although I do not know with what.

They also have a tendancy to get split by ice and wind, and don't have a long lifespan. (Although city trees in general don't live long, anyway)

Hmm... if those were put in when Davis T opened... then they'd be around 20 years old now, and rapidly on the decline in the coming years. Japanese flowering cherries would be a possible replacement tree.

[siderea]

I was just reading up on the Bradfords: apparently they're considered an invader and they're strongly discourged. A pity, because they're gorgeous and hardy, but, as you say, they're fragile trees and, now having been around 20 years, are beginning to split during the winter.

I like the cherry idea, but are there any cultivars w/o fruit? The fruit makes a mess which is downright dangerous with how slippery it can become, which disrecommends fruit trees for over the bike path.

[artemii.livejournal.com]

the "ornamental cherries" we've been talking about (also referred to as "flowering cherries" or "japanese flowering cherries", though all cherry trees flower) are fruitless. that's why the city also plants a fair number of them.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

The ones that stink to high heaven?

[siderea]

Well, I haven't noticed them smelling. The white ones, which line the bike path behind the Havard Vanguard building.

[ah42.livejournal.com]

Well, with a description like that, I'd go with the bradford pear suggestion as well. At least, that's what I've heard about them. We only have them on one of our clients' properties, and I always miss them flowering...

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

Our school used them... and I seriously avoided the main path. What a foul, entirely unplaceable odor.

[katespace.livejournal.com]

Agreed, those things smell like dead fish.

[ron_newman]

I think these are also the trees that still have dark red leaves in late fall, when every other tree has turned brown or dropped its leaves.

flowering pears

[kalimba21.livejournal.com]

The city went crazy planting these from the mid 80's onward, and they really stink when there's a whole street of them in flower. Other than that, they seem to be hardy and a nice size.

Choosing urban street trees and examining the history is so interesting. Norway Maples used to be a preferred tree 'till they raised up all the sidewalks.