This is the Season When Pepper Trees Steal the Show

The Brilliant Pepper Tree

This particular pepper tree lives beside the path that leads from the easternmost entrance to Larry Moore Park from the Riverbank Tract.  I took the pictures on October 20 last year when the pinkish berries were fully developed.

Peruvian Pepper Tree on October 20, 2014, ©B. Radisavljevic

What Kind of Pepper Tree?

My research leads me to believe this is a Peruvian pepper tree rather than a Brazilian, although both grow in California. The reason I decided that is because the Peruvian pepper tree is deciduous. The Brazilian pepper tree is evergreen. After looking through my winter photos I found this picture taken on December 16. Looks to me as though this tree is definitely deciduous.

Peruvian Pepper Tree on December 16, 2014, ©B. Radisavljevic

Pepper Tree in All its Glory

Bee in a Silk Tree

Silk trees are in bloom again and will be for a bit longer. In this photo, you can see a bee hard at work in the silk tree's puffy pink flowers. You can also see the buds for future flowers that are not yet open.

Bee Foraging on Silk Tree Flower, © B. Radisavljevic 

Silk trees are members of the legume family of plants. The scientific name of the silk tree is Albizia julibrissin. It is a deciduous tree. In the photo below you can see all three stages of the tree's reproduction, but the bee is only interested in one of them -- the flower.

Bee in Silk Tree Flower with Buds and Fruits, © B. Radisavljevic
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Next to the flowers, you see the buds of the next flowers. Below the flowers, you see the long green pods that hold the seeds. Can you see the resemblance to peas and other plants in the legume family?

The photos on this page were taken in October 2012, on Bethel Road in Templeton on what was then the Veris Tasting Room property.

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