Unidentified species at the Palmetum - Two Trees

[Carlo Morici]

Hello all,

What do you think they are?

Carlo

[BS Man about Palms]

I think they are beautiful. But that doesn't help you.

[fastfeat]

Carlo--

The first is some sort of Millettia species, perhaps M. sutherlandii or M. paraguayensis?

Not sure about the other, though it looks vaguely familiar. Does it have milky sap, a-la Ficus?

[fastfeat]

Carlo--

The first is some sort of Millettia species, perhaps M. sutherlandii,M. paraguayensis or M. grandis?

Not sure about the other, though it looks vaguely familiar. Does it have milky sap, a-la Ficus?

[bahia]

I would agree with Fastfeet that the first photo has the look of Millettia, but I'm not familiar with the tropical tree growing species. The foliage looks very similar to the vining M. reticulata, or Evergreen Wisteria from Taiwan, that is sometimes seen in California. Those flowers are much more impressive than M. reticulata, however, which aren't nearly as large or held upright so visibly. The foliage of the second tree somewhat resembles Delostoma roseum, but the flower buds clearly indicate it can't be this tree. Always interesting to see what can be grown in the Canary Islands as compared to here in the San Francisco Bay Area!

[fastfeat]

RE: first picture

"Millettia paraguayensis" should have been Lonchocarpus dominguensis.

Lonchocarpus and Millettia are both large genera (150 spp and 90 spp respectively), often with showy lavender flowers. I'm not an expert on either genus, but I'm pretty confident that this tree is in one of these two genera.

From the internets, there's this pic (ostensibly) of "Millettia oblata", FWIW...

[Peter]

For comparison, here is a photo of Millettia grandis in South Africa:

[Carlo Morici]

Thank you all for the help.

Lonchocarpus or Milletia? Can you tell more? I am clueless and, above all, I am key-less. So I need clues or (botanical) keys. It is rather small, below 7 m and it stood well extreme droughts.

Regarding the other tree. Today I visited the Palmetum again and I took more pics. Yes, it has a milky sap, not really white as the typical Ficus, it is rather ivory-cream coloured. Leaves are rough, much like in Artocarpus heterophyllus leaves. And it also has a Ficus-like ocrea on the tips. It has showy superficial roots, thick and rounded. will later upload the pics.

Carlo

[Carlo Morici]

Here are two more pictures of the same tree.

Carlo

[fastfeat]

Carlo--

I forwarded your photos to Jesse Durko (Ft. Lauderdale-area nurseryman and plant collector). Both he and Michael Ferrero agreed that the purple-flowering tree was a Millettia species. Jesse thought it was likely M. grandis; Michael wouldn't commit to a species.

Does the tree set seed for you?

I'm wondering if the other tree is some sort of Artocarpus species?

Ken.

[Carlo Morici]

Thank you again,

Yes, the Milletia-Lonchocarpus sets fruits. I will take a pic if I can still find some. It blooms over a number of months, during the warmer part of the year. It is beautiful indeed, so the people of the City collected seeds to reproduce it for parks or streets.

Carlo

[Peter]

According to Alexandre who is growing that M. grandis in the photo, your tree is a Millettia, but not a grandis as the leaves are wrong.

[Carlo Morici]

Alfredo Reyes, from the Jardín Botánico de La Orotava, today suggested Ficus fraseri for the 2nd tree.

As I mentioned before it has rough leaves and an unusual sap. As I read about F.fraseri, I see it is called "Sandpaper Fig" and it is one of the few Ficus with clear sap.

So he must be just right!

Carlo