Oh hey there, little valley oak! It’s been a while since I sketched you. Previously here and here.
Tag: trees
Melaleuca nesophila
I spotted a new-to-me Australian native in the grounds of my local university. Showy Honey-Myrtle is endemic to an area near Albany in Western Australia. The Noongar indigenous name is mindiyet.
Melaleuca nesophila is cultivated as an ornamental plant. It grows in full sun to part shade, in sandy or clay loam soils. Once established, it will tolerate extended dry periods as well as coastal conditions. This species is naturalised in some parts of Victoria where it is considered a serious environmental weed, as it replaces the local native plants.
Psidium guajava
I’ve never grown common guavas—this tree is in my MIL’s yard—so I don’t know if this growth pattern is normal. I don’t see it on any of the images that a quick search pulls up. Part of the flower (a sepal?) persists as the fruit grows, forming a tough ”hood”. Looking at variously-sized fruits on the tree, it seems that this hood stays the same size as the fruit enlarges. Presumably it eventually falls off. What is the purpose of this phenomenon? Is it unique to this tree?
Pinus
One of the goals for my time in the mountains was to learn to reliably identify a handful of alpine trees. Here are three that I got to know (some more intimately than others).
Eucalyptus conferruminata
Fun gum tree at the El Capitán State Beach campground. The ranger tried to tell me it was a Myoporum but he was nuts.
sierras
I’m preparing for a trip to the Western Sierra Nevada Mountains; this book is coming with me. Quote by John Muir from the intro: “The coniferous forests of the Sierra are the grandest and most beautiful in the world, and grow in a delightful climate on the most interesting and accessible of mountain-ranges, yet strange to say they are not well known.” At minimum, I hope to learn to identify a handful of new-to-me trees while I’m there.
trunk
Last of the toned paper in my sketchbook. I did quite enjoy it, but I don’t think I ever used it to its full advantage (leaving the paper as the mid tone then applying lighter and darker colours over it)—except maybe for the green man fountain sketch. I’d try another toned sketchbook, but for now I’m going back to white paper.
babies
We rarely get more than a fig or two for ourselves, but this year there’s quite a few on the tree, so maybe the birds will share more?
lone gum
limes
hashiworks 