151 



its specific name — and few filamenls on (he leaves. Both of these 

 California F'an Palms are tall, slender trees with crowns of 

 large leaves which, when they die, remain hanging against the 

 trunk forming exaggerated hula skirts that reach to the ground, 

 unless— as is usually done — they are trimmed off to a greater 

 or less distance from the base. Frequently reaching a height of 

 80 to 100 feet, these graceful palms give character to many 

 streets, but little more shade than a row of telegraph poles. A 

 small fan palm, rarely over 20 feet high, the leaves usually less 

 than three feet in diameter, is the Windmill Palm, Trachycarpus 

 excelsa, from China. The mass of black fibers and old leaf bases 

 on the trunk distinguish it from any other palm. True date 

 palms are grown for their fruit in Imperial Valley and may be 

 seen occasionally as ornamental trees on lawns, but the Canary 

 Island Date Palm, Phoenix canariensis, is a common tree 

 along the streets. The pinnate leaves, often 20 feet long arch 

 down and the thick trunks are entirely covered with the dia- 

 mond-shaped leaf scars or the stubs of old leaves. A slender 

 tree with smooth gray trunk ringed about every six or twelve 

 inches with the narrow scars of former leaves, crowned with 

 pinnate leaves 12 to 15 feet long, is the Plume Palm, commonly 

 known by its scientific name, Cocos plumosa. (But more recently 

 named Arecastriim romanzoffianum.) It is native to Brazil. 



From Australia come the various species of Eucalyptus. 

 With all of them — some ninety are grown in California but 

 only four or five are common — the petals and sepals form a cap 

 on the flower bud that falls off to let the large number of sta- 

 mens expand. The species most commonly grown and one seen 

 frequently, especially along roads outside the cities, is the Blue 

 Gum, Eucalyptus globulus. The odd bark shreds off from the 

 trunk, often in strips several yards long, leaving a smooth grey 

 or whitish inner bark exposed. The leaves on mature trees are 

 alternate, narrowly lanceolate, somewhat curved and yellowish 

 green with distinct petioles, but on young trees and shoots they 

 are opposite, broadly ovate, sessile and bluish green or almost 

 white. Another species frequently seen along the streets is the 

 Swamp Mahogany, Eucalyptus robusta, a large tree with rough 

 dark brown bark and ovate leaves. In this the brown capsules 

 are small, half an inch long, and shaped like small goblets, quite 

 unlike the larger, bluish, angular capsules of the blue gum, or 



