Tree Identification in Kitsilano – Feb 10, 2023
Report by Nina Shoroplova, Photos by Nina Shoroplova and Teresa Gagne
Friday, February 10, 2023, was a sunny, dry day, perfect for “Identifying Trees in Winter at Kitsilano Park and Kitsilano Beach Park.” Eighteen Nature Vancouver members joined leaders Nina Shoroplova and Teresa Gagné mid-morning in the southwest corner of Kitsilano Park and for the next two hours identified both evergreen and deciduous, native and introduced, ornamental and invasive species of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants.
Whereas evergreen trees offered needles, fallen pollen and seed cones, and recognizable bark and habit to make recognition easier, deciduous trees offered much less. Some identifications were made based solely
- on grafting and lenticels (ornamental cherry trees, Prunus),
- on flower buds and last year’s fruit (a princess tree a.k.a. empress tree, Paulownia tomentosa),
- on bark and zigzag branching (black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia), and
- on pointed leaf buds, remaining dead leaves, and smooth bark (beech, mostly European beech, Fagus sylvatica).
A couple of trees remain unidentified until they leaf out in spring.
