There are two trees thriving right now in their four square feet of dirt, and they’re making San Francisco’s sidewalks much more interesting. Both are pretty ubiquitous around the City, both are showy and bold, both have a trunk, branches, leaves, and flowers. But beyond these shared characteristics, Red Gum Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus ficifolia, syn. Corymbia ficifolia) and Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora, aka Bull Bay or Evergreen Magnolia, as well) are about as opposite as two large trees growing in the same urban habitat can get.
Let’s start with the obvious.
FLOWERS
- E. ficifolia: no petals at all, but tons of 1/2″ stamens radiating like electro-shocked tendrils around a central pistil, with each of these individual flowers coming together to form a striking firework puffball, known in plant I.D. terms as an “umbel of panicles” (Basically? A cluster of flowers.). The flower color (i.e., the color of the stamens, all clumped together) spans the spectrum from a scarlet-vermilion hue — seemingly the most common in SF — to a salmony coral and blushy white. No scent.
Clik here to view.
just one flower of the thousands on the tree
versus
- M. grandiflora: boasts 8″-10″ diameter, creamy white blossoms, held aloft on the branches by some primeval force (magnolias were one of the very first, near-prehistoric, flowering plants). Fragrant, lushly so. Technically, the petals are “tepals,” I would like to use the soft, thick, 4″ long, fleshy petals to wash my face with in the dewy morning on, like, the Isle of Avalon or somewhere.
HABITAT
- E. ficifolia: A Mediterranean-climate adapted species, with an excessively small native range, approximately one kilometer by one kilometer (!) in Western Australia south of Perth, most of which are found growing in Walpole Nornalup National Park.
versus
- M. grandiflora: Has an extensive range, and likes it wet and warm (though obviously, it’s tolerant of other conditions, considering it does well in SF), spreading from North Carolina down to central Florida and westward to central Texas. It is really a slutty tree.
LEAVES
- E. ficifolia: dull blue-green leaves in the “traditional” leaf shape, much like the common houseplant known as “ficus” (Ficus benjamina). Hence the name “ficifolia” (or, “ficus-leaf”). Botanists can be so self-derivative, it’s almost like writing a crappy metal review (“so-and-so sounds a lot like so-and-so!” So…what?).
versus
- M. grandiflora: almost twice the size of ficifolia leaves, putting them at the bigger end around 8″X4″. Leathery and thick, glossy and dark green on top and a rusty tomentose like finely crushed velour making the underside a sensory treat for fondling passer-bys.
Clik here to view.
fall color in SF is tactile!
BUDS
- E. ficifolia: the immature stamens are protected by a little pointed gnome cap, for lack of a more sterile botanical term, that pop off when the flower is ready to do it’s thing.
Clik here to view.
spring-loaded buds in various degrees of popping
versus
- M. grandiflora: these buds are covered in a fuzzy pubescence, making them infinitely soft to the touch like cat ears.
FRUITS
- E. ficifolia: hard, woody, persistent (stays on the plant) fruits that look like the bowl of a pipe. About 1 and 1/2″ long, and ripening from green to dull brown. Hang in clusters as did the flowers from whence they came.
Clik here to view.
the whole shebang, including the green, unripe fruits
versus
- M. grandiflora: 4″-5″ cone-like fruit, often described as looking like a botanical hand grenade (if only Magnolia fruits were our bombs! The thought is hippie-dippie, but seriously….! A lot less collateral damage.). Bright red, bean-shaped seeds eventually show themselves.
Clik here to view.
not quite a fruit yet, but you get the idea of what it will look like
POLLINATION
- E. ficifolia: while I was photographing these flowers in the latest summer, the yellow jackets were loving them. I can confidently say they are more than likely visited by hummingbirds as well, considering they are red, relatively tubular-shaped, and scentless, all characteristics of a blossom these hyper little birds avidly seek out.
Clik here to view.
pollen feast
versus
- M. grandiflora: one of the first flowering plants, dating back to 100 million years ago, magnolias are pollinated by beetles (one of the earliest insects) who eat through the hairy bracts covering the tightly-budded petals to get to the warmer temperatures inside the bud. Pretty crazy — the symbiosis between primordial insects and the first flowers had phenomenal implications.
Clik here to view.
quintessential SF
Clik here to view.
E. ficifolia really takes life by the balls
