Montpellier maple - Acer monspessulanum

I first came across the Montpellier maple tree while hiking in the Torcal de Antequera national park in Southern Spain.

I had no idea that is was a Maple tree species until I found a description of the Acer monspessulanum in a book that I was given about trees in Spain.

Since then I have been back to the Torcal nature park a number of times to observe this tree during the different seasons. It seems to me that this tree is native to the park as it is very improbable that it has been introduced. The Torcal park is a practically untouched natural environment and this Maple tree species is quite evenly spread throughout the whole Kharst formation.

This tree can be distinguished from other Maples by its small three lobed leaves that are about 4-5 cm across. Their color is light green when new turning darker as they age.

The Samaras are start out light green and then turn slightly reddish as can be seen in the image below. I would describe them but I think the picture below does a much better job than I could with words.

Below is a picture of the small "flowers" that precede the Samaras.
Below is one of the trees that I found in Torcal de Antequera. The rock formations are a Limestone kharst formation that is one of the most interesting natural environments that I have ever encountered.


Below is a view of what the Limestone Kharst formation looks like at the Torcal nature park. The trees in the middle are Montpellier maples (picture taken in the winter when the trees were without leaves).


More trees that might interest you...
Red Maple - Acer rubrum
Boxelder Maple - Acer negundo
Big Leaf Maple - Acer macrophyllum
Vine Maple - Acer circinatum
Sycamore Maple
Common Horse Chestnut
Malabar Chestnut
Persian lilac

Spanish Fir - Abies Pinsapo

No, they are not Raspberries! And if they look delicious, don´t be fooled, they are pine cones! Actually they are the female cones of the Spanish Fir tree.

I took this picture while hiking in the Sierra de las Nieves natural reserve near Yunquera, Spain. The hiking trails closed in the summer months to prevent forest fires.

The Spanish Fir tree only grows wild in three rather small forests in the Sierra de las Nieves mountains (means "snowy mountians"). This tree species had once covered large areas of Southern Spain but over the centuries has slowly receeded into its current habitat.

The young trees of this species have an practically perfect "Christmas tree" appearance to them. As they get more advanced in years they loose the conical shape and tend to have their trunks forked into several stems instead of just one. This is true of the local champion tree called "El Pinsapo de la Escalereta" which has its trunk divided into three large stems.


The needle like leaves of the Spanish Fir are short and very stiff. At times they remind me of a stiff hairbrush.


If you are ever in vacationing on the "Costa del Sol" (Sun Coast - Malaga, Spain) this is a great place to take an outing away from the beach and enjoy these majestic trees.

If this tree interests you check out these others as well...
Nordmann Fir
Atlas Cedar
Cedar of Lebanon
Himalayan Cedar

Magnolia Grandiflora

The Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) is a popular ornamental tree with a beautiful, large, white flower. It is also the State tree of Mississippi.

The flower opens up in a tulip like shape with petals that fold back to expose the developing seedpod. I kept going pack to the same trees to catch all the stages of flower development which ended up taking me several weeks as the flowers opened up a lot slower than I had expected.

The dark green leaves are about 6 inches long. They are simple in shape but are usually somewhat warped as if someone had twisted and

Last summer while visiting the Alcazar Real of Sevilla I found a large, old Magnolia Grandiflora (below) in one of the royal gardens.
Check out these trees as well...
Monkey puzzle tree
Aleppo pine
Field Elm

Flame Tree - Brachychiton Acerifolius

The Flame tree (Brachychiton acerilolius) is not the only tree species to be called by the name "Flame" but in my opinion is the one that bests fits the name. It normally drops all of its leaves just prior to the blossoms forming in bright red clusters that turn the whole tree into one big mass of red. I found this tree in Malaga, Spain even though it is native to Australia. The Brachychiton acerifolius leaves are large and can vary from one to nine lobes (even on the same tree).

The flowers are like little bells, about 1cm across. They are bright red and do not vary in color. They are about the same size as the Brachychiton populneus "bells" but are a good deal smaller than the flowers of the Brachychiton discolor or Brachychiton bidwillii. The Flame tree also has a naturally occurring hybrid that is a cross with the B.discolor that is called "Clarabelle".

The images below are a serious of pictures that I have taken near my home that illustrate how the seedpods develop from flower to full maturity. Notice how in the first picture the seedpods are already forming inside of one of the small "bells".

In the next picture you can see what is left of the flower at the base of the growing seed pods.

These pods can grow in clusters of 2-5 and it is very common to see them in a star pattern like the one below.

Notice how at this state the flowers have all fallen off the tree but the leaves have yet to form. On some of the trees I have noticed that not all of the leaves fall off.
The seed pod cracks open when it is fully mature exposing a number of bright yellow seeds that are encased in a hairy coating.



If you like this tree you may also like these others as well...
Bush Kurrajong
Little Kurrajong
Weeping Bottlebrush tree
Brachychiton discolor x acerifolius "Clarabelle"