Pacific Northwest Garden Forum: North CA / South OR > What’s this tree?

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   Driving back from Brookings, Oregon, just after the redwood forest and coming by Smith River, maybe 20 miles from the coast, was a tree with many yellow flowers.

The leaves reminded me of silk tree, but much more fine looking. Double compound. There is a leaf stalk, branching into secondary leaf stalks with two ranks of fine narrow leaves. Profuse tiny yellow blossoms that almost conceal the foliage.

It had leaves, but I'm not sure if it's an evergreen or a deciduous tree that already set leaves.

I saw it by the roadside in what is a wild forest area, but it's uncertain to me if it's a native or a landscape tree that naturalized in the woods.

Anybody know what it is by that description?

Edited by mdvaden

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mdvaden none Joined: Jul-27-2003 Location: Oregon, Western Posts: 748	Topic: North CA / South OR > What’s this tree? Posted: Feb-15-2006 at 11:38pm
	Driving back from Brookings, Oregon, just after the redwood forest and coming by Smith River, maybe 20 miles from the coast, was a tree with many yellow flowers. The leaves reminded me of silk tree, but much more fine looking. Double compound. There is a leaf stalk, branching into secondary leaf stalks with two ranks of fine narrow leaves. Profuse tiny yellow blossoms that almost conceal the foliage. It had leaves, but I'm not sure if it's an evergreen or a deciduous tree that already set leaves. I saw it by the roadside in what is a wild forest area, but it's uncertain to me if it's a native or a landscape tree that naturalized in the woods. Anybody know what it is by that description? Edited by mdvaden
	M.D. Vaden

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Lisa A none Joined: Aug-14-2003 Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro Posts: 3243	Posted: Feb-16-2006 at 3:19pm
	Sounds like something in the pea family, like a honey locust but I don't know of any honey locust that blooms yellow in spring. Could it be Parkinsonia aculeata? The spring flowers of Tabebuia chrysotricha sound about right but the leaves are palmately compound. I think I'm going to have to do a little more digging. Oh, goodie! A plant mystery!
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Fern none Joined: Mar-11-2005 Location: Washington, Western Cascade Foothills Posts: 1346	Posted: Feb-16-2006 at 7:33pm
	Made me think of Acacia, but what would it be doing there? Did you see the flowers close up? [edited because of bad spelling] Edited by Fern
	Fern
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mdvaden none Joined: Jul-27-2003 Location: Oregon, Western Posts: 748	Posted: Feb-16-2006 at 8:10pm
	Go to this album... This Album, Scroll to the End - Yellow Flowered Tree Click a photo to get in slideshow view. Be sure then, to click the tiny text "original" under the frame so you can see the tiny leaf detail. Those lesves of the first picture also have other ranks of itsy bitsy leaves. This has got to be the nicest looking yellow flowered tree I've ever seen. Edited by mdvaden
	M.D. Vaden
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DebbieTT Admin Group Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8 Joined: Jan-25-2003 Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula Posts: 4240	Posted: Feb-16-2006 at 8:29pm
	It is an Acacia for sure. Perhaps A. dealbata, however the leaves look a lot like Acacia baileyana, but the latter is not supposed to be hardy below zone 10. Edited by DebbieTT
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mdvaden none Joined: Jul-27-2003 Location: Oregon, Western Posts: 748	Posted: Feb-16-2006 at 10:06pm
	Looks like you are right. When I google searched that first Acacia, photos came up just like the one I saw. The tree I took an image of is in a wild environment off to the side of the road - both sides of it, several miles from any buildings. I hope I can get back through there in the next couple of weeks and look more carefully to see how far into the forest and surrounding hills that tree is growing.
	M.D. Vaden
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Fern none Joined: Mar-11-2005 Location: Washington, Western Cascade Foothills Posts: 1346	Posted: Feb-16-2006 at 10:24pm
	In my youth in the SF Bay area we that one of those growing next door and it did reseed. Maybe it's a sign of the global warming going on or something. Unfortunately I have a thing against that tree because it is the first flower that I could tell I was definitely allergic to so I hope it doesn't spread too much. I thought I had gotten away from it! I don't think it could live in WA, at least I hope not.
	Fern
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Lisa A none Joined: Aug-14-2003 Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro Posts: 3243	Posted: Feb-17-2006 at 10:06am
	Good for you, Debbie!
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gary none Joined: Jul-26-2003 Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor Posts: 793	Posted: Feb-19-2006 at 6:07am
	Brookings is not far from a Zone 10 nor San Fran. Raintree calls that coastal area: "Zone M:* This zone extends along the coast of California all the way down past San Francisco. Grow the varieties listed for Zone C,* (Astoria to Coos Bay), but also more tender plants like Passiflora, Bay and Eucalyptus. USDA Zone 9, and sometimes 8." Looking at the weather records 2 mi SE of Brookings since 1931, I found only three min temps in the teens; a 17, 18, & 19 in December of 1932, 1972, and 1990 respectively. As of last Sunday, Feb. 12, they are already below a 50% chance of spring frost. Like Chicago, NYC, Barcelona, & Rome, they are already within a day or two of 11 hour days while I am just now passing 10 1/2 hours. Before you decide to move let me also mention that they have had almost 30 months with more than 20" of rain the 70 years topped by a 30.6" month in Dec. 1996 when they also hit their max year at 123.9". The driest year was 1976 at 43.3". Like San Fran and much of the Oregon Coast, the warmest temperatures are usually in September. Just in case you plan to visit to look for home sites.
	Gary Olympia Sunset Zone 5, USDA Zone 8
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