“Judge a Plant by Its Cover”:  Twigs and Bark

1)   Acer buergerianum (Trident Maple) – photo of trunk (to the right)

• Move over Stewartia pseudocamellia, at least for the time being.
• Exceptional mottled flakey, lighter gray-brown bark on this young Asian maple.
• Makes a good street tree in Seattle, tolerant of a wide-range of stress factors.

2)   Acer caesium ssp. giraldii

• Maple featuring young branches covered with a whitish bloom (DO NOT TOUCH)
• Native to the Himalaya region of China (Shaanxi and Yunnan provinces)
• Specimen located along Arboretum Drive in the Peonies

3)   Betula albo-sinensis var. septentrionalis (Chinese Red Birch) – photo of trunk (to the right)

• “The bark is singularly lovely, being a rich orange-red or orange-brown and peels off in sheets, each no thicker than fine tissue paper, and each successive layer is clothed with a white glaucous bloom.”  – E.H. Wilson, Aristocrats of the Trees
• Please resist the temptation to tear, pull, rub… the bark.  It is disrespectful, potentially harmful to the tree, and a crime to deface public property.
• Grove located in the Witt Winter Garden.

4)   Cornus sanguinea   ‘Midwinter Fire’

• A multi-colored thicket-forming dogwood.
• Brightens up ones’ spirits on any dark and gloomy winter Seattle day.
• Located in the twig bed of the Witt Winter Garden.

5)   Prunus maackii   (Manchurian or Goldbark Cherry)

• Not as common as the Birchbark Cherry, but has brighter honey-brown bark.
• Located on the north toe of Yew hill, grid 30-3W.