New Haven: Bittersweet’s a climber

On the side of a house on Orange Street, this incredibly twining vine impressed me. I was on my first tentative urban plant walk in New Haven, seeing if there were any plants to observe, despite it being the dead of winter. Somehow I was drawn to the space between two houses, where I found this vine twining tightly around itself and everything else it could reach.

Read Full Post »

The comeback tree: Ailanthus altissima, tree of heaven

Photo taken in Mainz, Germany by Jo Spittler

A lively discussion about Ailanthus altissima broke out in response to my last post about Marko finding a plant busting through the pavement. Observant reader Jo Spittler suggested that the  “breakthrough” tree might be an Ailanthus, also known under such poetic names as tree of heaven and ghetto palm. It’s famous for sprouting up in places uninhabitable to most other plants, such as crumbling buildings and paved lots. Indeed, it serves as the central metaphor of the classic book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, as a symbol for flourishing in adverse conditions.

Read Full Post »