Coral tree - Erythrina lysistemon

The Common Coral tree (Erythrina lysistemon) is an ornamental tree species native to South Africa that is widely planted in parks and gardens. It is closely related to the "Kafferboom" or Coastal Coral tree and the Cockspur Coral tree. There is a fairly close resemblance between the common coral tree and the coastal coral tree and they are often confused even in some botanical gardens. Perhaps for this reason the specimen below at the University of Malaga botanical garden is as of yet without a species identification sign.

As you can see from these tree pictures the Common Coral tree is quite a sight when it is in bloom with its bright red flowers that appear at the ends of the new branches before the new leaves of spring.
The smaller branches of this tree species have small thorns on them although these end up wearing off or getting knocked off before too long. As a result the main trunk and branches to not have thorns on them. Another interesting feature of this tree species are its red seeds that are among some of the most beautiful of any tree seeds. They are about 4-5 mm in size and are quite hard which allows them to be used on necklaces.
Below is an image of the flower detail of this tree which is one way to distinguish between the different species of coral trees.

Southern Magnolia

The Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) is the state flower of Louisiana. In Mississippi this tree species serves as both the state tree and state flower. The leaves of this tree are "leathery" (ie fairly thick and somewhat wavy) and measure about seven to nine inches long. This tree is an evergreen but the previous years leafs fold back, turn brown and then fall off after the new leaves grow out in the spring.
The creamy white flowers of the Southern Magnolia have a tulip like shape that grows upright or at a slight angle. As the large round petals fold back they reveal the "fruit" that will grow into a pear sized seed pod.
Eventually as the soft white petals turn a sort of tan color and fall off leaving only the newly forming "fruit" in the place of the flower.
It is not uncommon for this seed pod to be confused for some sort of exotic edible fruit by those who are not familiar with this tree species. From this picture below you can see how the seed pod of the Southern Magnolia could be mistakenly identified as a tropical fruit.
This tropical fruit looking seed pod then undergoes a radical transformation as a number are bright red seeds begin to emerge from within as if they were being squeezed out and expelled. At the same time the pod begins to turn brown and dry up. Eventually a good number of the seeds will fall out and then the entire pod will snap off and fall to the ground although this may happen months later.

Empress Tree - Paulownia tomentosa

The Empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa) is a fast growing deciduous tree species native to China but widely used in parks and gardens in many countries. Its soft blue bell shaped flowers form in a cluster (panicle) prior to the new leaves in Spring. the leaves are heart shaped and quite large measuring sometimes up to 30-40 cm across.
The seed pods of this tree species are about the size of a golf ball and pointy on one end. When mature they crack open and release numerous small seeds that are disbursed by the wind.
The shape of the opened seed pods reminds me quite a bit of a nest of young birds with their beaks wide open as they await their next meal soon to be delivered by their mother.
Some years back when I lived in Portland Oregon I was charged with the task of removing what was thought to be a fast growing weed that was growing too close to the side of a building. We later discovered that it was in fact an Empress tree that did not at all want to be removed! Within a few weeks of having chopped it off at the base it had regained its original height. I removed it again and this time dug up the main bulk of the stump. A few months later it was growing back again having recovered from some of the roots that I had left. We gave up the fight for that year and let it grow. By the next year it was more than 15 feet tall growing right up against a large window. We were finally able to remove it completely and keep it from growing back, but not before gaining a very healthy respect for this tree species tenacity and obstinate persistence. No wonder it has become invasive in some parts of the US.
For a tree with similar flowers check out the Blue Jacaranda.
For a tree with similar leaves try the Indian Bean Tree (Catalpa).
For a tree with big extravagant leaves and interesting flowers try the Snowflake Aralia.

Silk Floss - Ceiba Speciosa

The Silk Floss tree (Ceiba speciosa or Chorisia speciosa) is very unique tree species from the subtropical regions of South America. The flowers of this tree range in color from creamy white to dark pink and white. It is sometimes confused with the "White Silk Floss tree".
It has taken me a full year of watching this tree species as it passed through the seasons to get this series of pictures. Yesterday I was finally able to get some good pictures of the puffy "silk" balls and the seeds. The pods in the picture above are about 5-6 inches long and are packed with a bunch of silky cotton-ball like puffs that each contain a seed. The way that this tree spreads its seeds is by the seed pod bursting open and letting the wind carry away the little silky puffs.
In the image above you can see one of the seed pods just after it has burst open and before any of the cotton-like wads have blown away. In the image below you can see another wad of silky puffs that is slowly letting the seeds drift away one at a time. You can see one black seed in this image.
The next image is of one of the individual seeds still attached to a small puff of the silky fibers that I picked up off the ground under the tree. There were several hundred of these in the grass under the tree. I hard a hard time getting a picture of this seed as there was a bit of a breeze which kept floating the little silky puff right out of my hand as it was a small down feather. They look like little cotton balls but they are a lot lighter. The seed itself is about 3 mm in diameter.
Another interesting feature of this tree are its thorns. To give an idea of their size and shape I took a picture with a Euro coin (slightly larger than a quarter). These are fairly representative of the thorn size although I have seen some that are at least twice this size.