The chains of what I think are samaras are the first thing we noticed about this tree. I might not be right about them being double samaras - it might be a single seed with wings that make it look like the double maple samaras. The leaflets, generally about 12 to a leaf, might be around 14cm long or longer, but I didn't measure them at the time.
Re: What tree? Pinnately compound leaves, no terminal leaflet, chain of double samara Yes, single seeds with two wings. This is Pterocarya, for several species paripinnate leaves are more common than imparipinnate ones. Can not tell which species, more details are needed.
Re: What tree? Pinnately compound leaves, no terminal leaflet, chain of double samara I can't believe it (well, I do believe it), but I thought to myself when it saw it: if the name "wingnut" weren't already taken (Pterocarya fraxinifolia, Caucasian Wingnut, is the one I know), I'd call this a wingnut. I didn't actually look to check if there really was more than one wingnut. Straley's Trees of Vancouver lists Pterocarya stenoptera, Chinese Wingnut, though doesn't mention the one at this location. Here's a document that says that Pterocarya stenoptera commonly show both paripinnate and imparapinnte leaves. On this Juglans key, it seems to fit 17a, Pterocarya stenoptera. Thanks, Tyrlych.
Re: What tree? Pinnately compound leaves, no terminal leaflet, chain of double samara Ditto to Chinese Wingnut Pterocarya stenoptera (note spelling!).
Re: What tree? Pinnately compound leaves, no terminal leaflet, chain of double samara I thought I'd found a single specimen tree, but just for the record, there are a lot of these Chinese Wingnuts on 23rd, for three blocks from Yukon to Ontario Streets, mostly on the south side but some on the north side as well.
Re: What tree? Pinnately compound leaves, no terminal leaflet, chain of double samara I was enjoying this stretch of Pterocarya stenoptera on 23rd today when I came across one that looked so different from the others - leaflets twice the size and hardly turned colour or falling. Yet its fruits are the same shape and the leaves have an even number of leaflets, which would seem to indicate P. stenoptera. The city's tree list shows them all the same, though that's no proof of anything - it would only indicate something if there were one listed differently on the list. The one different one is really nice. Would the seeds from it carry that difference? Is it something we should be excited about, like do we get to name it? Here they both are: The usual one is on the left - the single one on the right.
Re: What tree? Pinnately compound leaves, no terminal leaflet, chain of double samara 24th NW in Seattle had 90 P. fraxinifolia prior to 1988, when the city starting taking them out because they were not working out. Other species are seen here also, but not on streets. See Jacobson, Trees of Seattle - Second Edition (2006).
Re: What tree? Pinnately compound leaves, no terminal leaflet, chain of double samara They go four blocks, to Oak St. I am so surprised to learn that they were planted March 14 , 2000. That smaller good-looking one I can believe, but the others seem huge for being so young. I know they weren't planted as seeds that day, but still, they wouldn't have been all that large at planting.
Re: What tree? Pinnately compound leaves, no terminal leaflet, chain of double samara Probably going to overwhelm the planting positions, as on 24th in Seattle.
I think I'll just piggy back on my previous posting of Pterocarya stenoptera with my new find of three in Queen Elizabeth Park, just off 37th at Columbia. These ones are not going to overwhelm their planting positions. I didn't mention above the distinctive characteristic of this species - the winged rachis.