A quick trip to Cistus: in and out without the usual tarrying, but I couldn’t pass by without snapping a few pix of this tree.
It’s a beauty in every way, but it was the pods on bare branches that got to me.
Guess it must be a horse chestnut?
As pods go, these are pretty impressive too. They look like Datura to me. Anna (Flutter and Hum) hosts the Wednesday Vignette, which prompts us to look at our surroundings in new ways. Her entry this week is a doozy.
No doubt about it, seed pods are the star of the fall garden. Your shots capture all their sculptural grace. (Cool shots!)
Thanks, Laura: photographic praise from you takes on burnished meaning.
I’d agree about the Datura but I don’t think the other tree is a horse chestnut, I think it is a large bush variety, but the name escapes me right now.
If the name comes to you (usually when least expected) please let me know.
So that’s what they look like after blooming. When I first saw the pods I thought they were figs.
They do have a figgy look about them…unlike our struggling tree, which produced one lone fig.
I feel that way about my great-gran. She had many engrossing stories whose details have faded with time.
Beautiful tree! Looks like Aesculus californica, California buckeye or California horse chestnut. I love the way the pods persist after the foliage falls. Datura pods are also gorgeous. Stars of the autumn garden. You’re one lucky gardener to live so close to Cistus!
Yes, my cachepot runneth over. Thanks for the ID. Sounds about right.
Hmm…I didn’t know that anything else produced those smooth, shiny nuts. Will have to ask next time I’m at Cistus.