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From left to right: Moisés Mendoza (a botanist form the Museo Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado in Santa Cruz), Daniel Santamaria (a botanist from the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad in Costa Rica), and Fanol (our trusty driver). Here we are in a cactus-dominated forest between Cochabamba and Santa Cruz.
Independent Rail Australia loco 1432 on a mission of mercy, out to rescue a train failed in the Botany - Cooks River single line section. 9/7/07.
Looking at a courtyard adjoining one of the Historic District's main streets.
From the look of the unweeded and unmulched soil surface and the somewhat overgrown ensemble of perennials, shrubs, vines, and tree, I'd say this property has a distinctly Faulknerian, declining-Southern-family look to it. Nevertheless, all the plants here seem to be thriving when left to their own devices.
Among them, the tree is the real standout. It's a Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica), a member of the Lythraceae, the Loosestrife Family. This flamboyant showboat species is native to China and Southeast Asia, but has been rampantly employed all through the warmer parts of the US. And it has also become naturalized there.
Of all the Crape Myrtles I saw on this particular swing through the Old South, I photographed this one because of its striking, exfoliating bark. I'll show it at much closer range in the next photo of this set.
If you look closely, you'll also see that it bears large terminal panicles that are just coming into flower. This specimen appears to have white blooms, though other L. indica cultivars produce pink, crimson, or purple blossoms instead.
The leaves are also botanically interesting, and a real ornamental asset as well. They're often described as subalternate, which means they're arranged along their branches in alternating fashion, but in a way that makes them almost appear paired, or opposite. A rich, glossy green in the warm season, they turn flame-scarlet in the fall.
I can't think of too many other trees that combine so much dramatically stated ornamental appeal across the seasons.
The other photos and descriptions of this series can be found in my Botany of the Carolinas Coastal Plain album.
This is LESSON 3 of a 6 part lesson download for Middle School on Plants. Download Club members can download @ www.christianhomeschoolhub.spruz.com/science-1st---12th.htm (Under "Biological Sciences - "Botany (Study of Plants)") Works well with the Elementary curriculum also available!