It's definitely winter here in Buenos Aires. A cold snap came through the city last week and there was snow in the Provincia! Early last Friday morning I found myself in Mataderos on the west side of town. There, I finally found someone who could tell me the name in Spanish of these trees: Paraíso. From there I was able to look them up in my book: Biota Rioplatense III: Arboles Rioplatenses (Thank you Leandro!!!). The official scientific name is Melia azedarach. In the winter, no leaves remain, just theses "China Berries". I love the fact that these berries were used as beads for rosaries before plastics came along and supplanted them. They seem like they would have a nice "click" and a nice feel as they run through one's fingers.
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The enthralling majesty of the Palo Borracho, Ceibo, Jacaranda, Plane, Tipa trees and more grace the avenues and plazas of Buenos Aires, Argentina. This blog explores the history, the beauty and the life cycles of the many varied trees of the Paris of the South.
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5 comments:
Amazing how you managed to take such a gorgeous picture from such a pitiful plant... :)
Oh, I'm so glad you posted about these trees. I have seen them around Necochea and thought the white berries were pretty. The berries start to glow in the late afternoon as the golden light hits them.
Nice photo too. I love the berry bokeh!
Thank you Leandro. I really think these trees are interesting in the winter. I don't know what they look like in the summer - I'll have to keep my eye out for them as they seem to have pretty flowers.
Katie - they must be gorgeous in the late afternoon. I'll keep an eye out for that as well!
ah china berries. i remember them from a period way back in my life when i went to school in tucson arizona. there were china berry trees around as street trees and sort of as an invasive species. i liked them for their winter interest with all the yellow "fruit" or seeds or whatever they have hanging on them. ive never looked them up as to nativity. although i have over the years seen them in numerous diverse places. so you found them in a volume of rio platense....does that mean they are native to somewhere around here? so many plants have been moved around the world and sometimes look more native in a foreign place than they do at home. ie eucalyptus or london plane tree
They are native to India, southern China and Australia and are an invasive species here. I am intrigued to see what they look like in the spring and summer as it seems like they have nice flowers, which I haven't noticed before.
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