Sunday, January 29, 2012

Seen Only on the West Coast—Madrona Tree

Not found anywhere near Pink Gardens!

My friend Bette shot these photographs of a Madrona tree (Arbutus menziesii) at the beach near her house in Seattle. I'd never heard of this species before she sent me the pics—apparently they're only found on the northwest coast—Washington, Oregon, Vancouver. It's gorgeous, ain't it! For the Wiki on them, click here.

Wonderful abstract created by peeling pieces of bark. The coloring is unexpected, too, inside and out.

6 comments:

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  2. The Madrona is a bit like the Eucalyptus with that beautiful peeling bark. The eucalyptus trees in the San Diego area have also been experiencing some kind of 'sudden death syndrome'.

    Thanks for sharing Madrona with us, she's a beautiful Madonna of trees.

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  3. Tress like people have a unique personality of their own. I also feel some harbor spirits. For about 40 minutes I was staring at the shadow a tree casted on my neighbor's house. The trunk and branches mirrored themselves, but I was trying to figure where this strange object came from. It wasn't from the tree but casted onto the house and it looked kind of human. Personally, I think the native americans from colonial days still have a presence around here.

    Anyway, the textures on this tree look like potato peels, lol.

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  4. I completely agree with you, Woody. I think everything, plants, animals, tables, rocks, etc, has a spirit of some sort. Native Americans cherished the spirit in everything. I talk to everything I own!

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  5. I was reared in Tacoma, Wash and thus grew up with Madrona trees. They are quite beautiful and most have the red bark or coloring on the trunk. (I don't remember many with brown bark!) I used to camp at Madrona State Park and it was beautiful! Thanks for the pics, Casey and Bette!

    You post the most interesting things, Casey!

    Katie

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  6. thank you, Katie. I really do it because I have the most interesting readers. So many different posts touch so many different readers in so many different ways. I love it.

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