Swedish Whitebeam - Sorbus x intermedia

Common name(s):  Swedish whitebeam
Scientific name:  Sorbus x intermedia (triple hybrid between s. aucuparia, s. torminalis, s. aria)
Family:  Rose - Rosaceae
Native range:   Southern Sweden and nearby areas
Type: deciduous
Non-native range:  Planted as an urban ornamental tree
Average height range:  10 - 20 meters
Forest or habitat:  
Wood density and quality:  
Leaf shape: orbicular - obtuse (almost circular)
Leaf arrangement:  
Leaf margin:  lobate - serrate
Leaf venation:  pinnate
Leaf stem:  1cm approx.
Leaf surface:   dark green, glabrous, (Reverse - grayish-green, pubescent (hairy))
Inflorescence: Corymb
Flower: White, 5 petals, 1cm
Reproduction: tetraploid apomictic
Fruit: Orange to read oval pome
Edible?:  no
Seed dispersal mechanism:  birds (Thrushes and Waxwings)
Bark:  Gray  and fairly smooth
Traditional uses:  ornamental
Commercial uses:   ornamental
Invasiveness:   unknown

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Árboles madrileños, Antonio López Lillo y Antonio López Santalla, 2007, Obra Social Caja Madrid.

Norway Maple - Acer platanoides L

Common name(s):  Norway maple
Scientific name:   Acer platanoides L.
Family:    Soapberry family (Sapindaceae)
Native range:  East central Europe to southwest Asia
Type: Deciduous
Non-native range:  widely planted as an urban tree in cities and parks
Average height range:  20-30 meters
Forest or habitat:  
Wood density and quality:  hard, good for furniture, color is pale-yellow to reddish.
Leaf shape:  palmate
Leaf arrangement:  Opposite
Leaf margin:  lobed, spiny (1-7 teeth-like points per lobe)
Leaf venation:  palmate
Leaf stem:  5-8 inches, 8-20 cm
Leaf surface:  glabrous (smooth, not hairy)
Inflorescence:  corymb like panicle
Flower: five sepals and five petals 3–4 mm, inconspicuous
Pollinating agents: ?
Fruit: double Samara pair
Edible?:  no
Seed description:  flattened disk-like with “wings” (samara)
Seed dispersal mechanism:  wind blown Samara
Bark:  gray-brown, grooved
Traditional uses:  ornamental, shade
Commercial uses:  furniture and wood-turning  (banister spindles etc.)
Invasiveness:  Moderate in some areas, (banned in New Hampshire and Massachusetts)
Threats: Asian long horned beetle,
Iconic or symbolic value:  Maple leaf is the national symbol of Canada and is represented on its flag.

Heart shaped tree leaves

Indian bean tree (Catalpa)

Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)

Redbud (Cercis siliquastrum)

Empress tree (Paulawnia tomentosa)

Ficus petiolaris

Large-leaved Linden mite leaf galls

 These are images of some rather bizarre leaf galls on a Large-leaved Linden (Lime) tree in Madrid, Spain.  I believe that the little critters who caused these galls are some sort of mite (see bottom images).

 I opened up one of the galls and found about 20 or so of the little mites inside.

Tulip tree flower

 Getting good images of the Tulip tree flower can be quite a trick due to the trees tall height and the fact that the flowers are usually so far off the ground that you can only get a glimpse of them.  A few days ago however I came across a fairly young tree that had flowers as low as five feet off the ground.  These images are from that tree.

Fig leaf - Ficus carica - shape, venation, margin, texture

 Fig leaves are probably most famous for the biblical mention of Adam and Eve covering themselves with these leaves after they sinned.  Personally I can´t imagine anyone wearing these rather rough and sandpaper textured leaves.  Or perhaps the first couple covered themselves with the leaves of another member of the ficus family.  These fig leaves come from the Edible Fig - Ficus carica.  As can be seen from the images Fig leaves are very deeply "lobed".  The edible fig does drop it leaves each year.  The image below is of the autumn colors.

 The following image shows the bright green color of the fig leaf as well as its lumpy surface.  What is not see easy to see from the image is its rough, sandpaper like texture on the top side.

 The image below is of the reverse (underside) of the leaf, which is a lighter green color and is also rough but with stiff pubescent hairs.  It is also very "rugose" with the veins being very visible and pronounced.

 The venation of the fig leaf is "reticulate" with the secondary veins forming a network pattern. Each of the lobes also has a main vein that branches of from the rachis.

 The margin is "serrate" with rounded teeth that point slightly forward.

Summary...
Shape: Lobate
Margin: Serrate
Consistency: thick and stiff
Venation: Reticulate
Texture top side: Rugose
Texture reverse: Pubescent
Color: bright green, yellow-orange in autumn
Petiole: 2-6cm

One fig growing out from inside another

 I came across a fig tree with a bumper "breva" (first crop) crop of figs.  As I was taking some pictures I noticed several figs where on fig was growing out from the inside of another fig forming a sort of double fig.  The images speak for themselves.