Please don’t strangle me
San Diego is not well-known for trees, certainly not like the Pacific Northwest with all of its Firs, or central California with its Redwoods and Sequoias. However, there are three places where you can see gigantic trees in San Diego County:
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Palomar Mountain — There are giant Redwoods and California Incense Cedars growing naturally.
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Balboa Park — Kate Sessions planted many Eucalyptus, California Oaks, and Ficus trees back in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
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San Diego Zoo — Along witih being an internationally acclaimed Zoo, it is also an internationally acclaimed botanical garden, and there are many large trees that were planted in 1915 when the Zoo was founded.
A comment on a post on September 18 (I have an affection for trees) asked if I had any pictures of tree roots. Of course. I’ve been to see the big trees, and big trees often have big roots. Here are a few of my favorites:
The first picture is a Sweetgum, the second is a Coral tree, and all the rest are Ficus. Ficus trees come from the tropics but they absolutely love it here in San Diego. Might be the weather….
Many Ficus trees — and your common fig is a Ficus — are strangler figs. Strangler figs put out air roots from their branches. Once the roots reach the ground and begin growing, they will often strangle the mother plant. The tree’s DNA lives on through new trees sprouting from the large roots. In the following pictures you can see air roots which are beginning to strangle the trees:
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Posted on September 20, 2012, in Flora, Mother & Father Nature, Out & About, Photos, Zoo & Safari Park and tagged san diego zoo pictures, tree root pictures. Bookmark the permalink. 35 Comments.
That looks like something out of a movie about aliens! Wish I had roots like some of the ones in the first pictures, though. Then I wouldn’t have to suffer from Puny Root Chakra Syndrome (PRCS). I’m thinking of holding a fundraiser.
I thought the plant geneticists had bred PCRS out of the gene pool. I’m so sorry to hear it’s still around……….lol
Eerie, mysterious, appealing, and well, rooty. Cool pics!
Once I really learn how to do HDR like I want to do HDR, I’ll be heading back to the Zoo and Balboa Park to take some high definition pictures of roots so I can make something alien out of them.
They are incredibly fascinating trees, err… roots, you’ve photographed..!
I adore trees; I can be mesmerized by pics such as these.. I was over in San Francisco in 2010. Hopefully, I get to San Diego one day. I’d love to visit the zoo especially..!
If you get down this way, give me a call. I sometimes have free tickets to the Zoo, and I’ve been known to play Docent for a day, too.
Haha… will do..!
WOW! I love them all.
These are fascinating!
Lots of ficus trees here in Fla. It must be the warm weather. The roots are huge and artistic in their shapes and sizes. GREAT photos.
Sooo interesting Ray, I knew there was a reason I loved the Ficus.
Loving your roots.
Very cool – I live in an area with thin top soil so the roots of the trees are all near the surface – they really make mowing a lawn challenging – none of them are as cool as these!
The soil really has little to do with the roots. Roots come with the tree species. For example, Ficus and Sweetgum have lots of surface roots. Just no getting around it. Pine trees have long tap roots with just a few surface roots.
However, for all trees you can create surface roots through your watering practices. Roots are constantly looking for water and nutrients, so if you water (or it rains) rarely, and a small amount, only wetting those top six to twelve inches, the trees will adapt and give you surface roots, trying to get to that water.
For my home inspection clients here in San Diego, which is a Mediterranean desert with just 11 inches of rain a year, I tell them to water once a week but water deeply. That way the roots will chase that water down into the soil, providing a better root system to hold the tree in the ground when the 60-mph Santa Ana winds arrive each Fall.
I’m in the Ozarks and how a tree roots varied by whether you are on the hilltop or in the hollow. I have oaks and walnuts at my place that have huge above ground roots. We get lots of rain, but the underlying limestone karst is just below the surface. The extent of the root systems is amazing though – wide rather than deep.
Oaks and walnuts — and most hardwoods generally — have lots of surface roots and mid-surface roots. So it’s no surprise to me that you find a lot of surface roots with them. Soil comes into play because of its texture, depth, and pH. Structure of the soil (that limestone karst) comes into play as well because the pine tree, which has a tap root that does down as deep as the tree is tall, can’t grow there. Some will try, creating some interesting pine trees. Hardoows, like your oaks and walnuts, don’t have that deep taproot, so they can easily grow in areas such as yours with shallow soils.
We have a situation out here because of all the granite mountains. Pine trees could grow here but they need that deep soil, and the granite just below the surface don’t allow it. Thus we get manzanita, California oaks, and eucalyptus, all with surface roots and all doing fine.
Down in the valleys, where there is are rivers, alluvial deposits, and deep soils, we do have a lot of pine trees.
I have seen some old oaks by springs do some amazing things to stay rooted – almost like cages in and through the limestone. I grew up in the desert and mis things like the manzanita and eucalyptus.
These are so cool! Hope you have recovered from your camping trip. 8)
I’m an easy recovery. Jalapeño nachos and a margarita is all it takes……….lol
Sounds good to me!
Love the photos. We too have stranglar figs here, they r amazing. I love photographing them but your photos are amazing. Regards Leanne
I love those trees – magnificent!
Your pictures bring back childhood memories. I used to like exploring between the roots of big Banyan trees & swinging from the aerial roots.
Russel, I never in this world thought you would do a post on Matricide; but you did.
lol…………I’m full of surprises!
Beautiful shots! I love trees too, especially roots, like Coral Trees.
Great pics mate , last time I saw trees like this was in Santiago Chile, natures works of art.
Cheers
Aussie Emu
Very interesting shots!
Good job, Russel. Never have I seen such roots as these. Fascinating!
Blessings ~ Maxi
I love trees – just lovely Russel!
Love these roots! Great shots!
Amazing and breath taking pics!
Wonderful trees…they make me think of Tolkiens book and the Lord of the Ring.
I bet at night these trees start walking and talking with ancient, low voices, discussing the world in an old, mysterious language.
Now I’m going to have to go on a midnight run to find out!…………lol
These trees are fantastic looking! The roots are amazing!