A friend has been telling me about a large shrub or small tree, and I've
finally seen a photo (but don't have it to attach, here), and I'm
wondering if someone here will have ideas about it.

It was found on a Florida beach as a seed. I don't know if it washed up
there from elsewhere, or if the parent plant was nearby.

It makes a creamy white, corky, quite furrowed bark. Leaves are
trifoliolate, with huge, Hybrid-Tea-rose-like prickles on the upper side
all along the midrib, and also on the underside on veins (I'm not sure
if just on the midrib). There are also big, thick prickles on the
twigs, usually two at a node and at least one on the internode. Other
than the prickles, the leaves remind me of Erythrina.

My friend has assumed it's a legume, and it may well be. It occurs to
me that it could also be Rutaceae, and I've asked him to look for
punctate dots on a leaf.

I'm reasonably good at Florida's native flora and much of our cultivated
exotic flora. I've never seen this plant before.

Any ideas? thanks.
Malcolm Manners

"Malcolm Manners" wrote in message
news:jfO2g.5260$ww6.281@trnddc05...
A friend has been telling me about a large shrub or small tree, and I've
finally seen a photo (but don't have it to attach, here), and I'm wondering
if someone here will have ideas about it.

It was found on a Florida beach as a seed. I don't know if it washed up
there from elsewhere, or if the parent plant was nearby.

It makes a creamy white, corky, quite furrowed bark. Leaves are
trifoliolate, with huge, Hybrid-Tea-rose-like prickles on the upper side
all along the midrib, and also on the underside on veins (I'm not sure if
just on the midrib). There are also big, thick prickles on the twigs,
usually two at a node and at least one on the internode. Other than the
prickles, the leaves remind me of Erythrina.

Erythrina species very commonly have prickles much as
you describe.

My friend has assumed it's a legume, and it may well be. It occurs to me
that it could also be Rutaceae, and I've asked him to look for punctate
dots on a leaf.

I'm reasonably good at Florida's native flora and much of our cultivated
exotic flora. I've never seen this plant before.

Any ideas? thanks.

The native _Erythrina herbacea_ is prickly, and its bark is reportedly
light gray and furrowed:
http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/bio406d/im...a_herbacea.htm
http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/d...?recnum=TS0258

But various other species of Erythrina are cultivated in Florida, and
are also prickly.

cheers

mel turner wrote:
"Malcolm Manners" wrote in message
news:jfO2g.5260$ww6.281@trnddc05...

A friend has been telling me about a large shrub or small tree, and I've
finally seen a photo (but don't have it to attach, here), and I'm wondering
if someone here will have ideas about it.

It was found on a Florida beach as a seed. I don't know if it washed up
there from elsewhere, or if the parent plant was nearby.

It makes a creamy white, corky, quite furrowed bark. Leaves are
trifoliolate, with huge, Hybrid-Tea-rose-like prickles on the upper side
all along the midrib, and also on the underside on veins (I'm not sure if
just on the midrib). There are also big, thick prickles on the twigs,
usually two at a node and at least one on the internode. Other than the
prickles, the leaves remind me of Erythrina.


Erythrina species very commonly have prickles much as
you describe.


My friend has assumed it's a legume, and it may well be. It occurs to me
that it could also be Rutaceae, and I've asked him to look for punctate
dots on a leaf.

I'm reasonably good at Florida's native flora and much of our cultivated
exotic flora. I've never seen this plant before.

Any ideas? thanks.


The native _Erythrina herbacea_ is prickly, and its bark is reportedly
light gray and furrowed:
http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/bio406d/im...a_herbacea.htm
http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/d...?recnum=TS0258

But various other species of Erythrina are cultivated in Florida, and
are also prickly.

cheers



Thanks for your thoughts, Mel. It's definitely not E. herbacea, but
could be an Erythrina.

Malcolm Manners wrote:
A friend has been telling me about a large shrub or small tree, and I've
finally seen a photo (but don't have it to attach, here), and I'm
wondering if someone here will have ideas about it.

It was found on a Florida beach as a seed. I don't know if it washed up
there from elsewhere, or if the parent plant was nearby.

It makes a creamy white, corky, quite furrowed bark. Leaves are
trifoliolate, with huge, Hybrid-Tea-rose-like prickles on the upper side
all along the midrib, and also on the underside on veins (I'm not sure
if just on the midrib). There are also big, thick prickles on the
twigs, usually two at a node and at least one on the internode. Other
than the prickles, the leaves remind me of Erythrina.

My friend has assumed it's a legume, and it may well be. It occurs to
me that it could also be Rutaceae, and I've asked him to look for
punctate dots on a leaf.

I'm reasonably good at Florida's native flora and much of our cultivated
exotic flora. I've never seen this plant before.

Any ideas? thanks.
Malcolm Manners

Could be Poncirus trifoliata. A picture would certainly be helpful...
http://tenn.bio.utk.edu/vascular/dat...0and%20Chester

-Philip

Philip Wright wrote:
Malcolm Manners wrote:

A friend has been telling me about a large shrub or small tree, and
I've finally seen a photo (but don't have it to attach, here), and I'm
wondering if someone here will have ideas about it.

It was found on a Florida beach as a seed. I don't know if it washed
up there from elsewhere, or if the parent plant was nearby.

It makes a creamy white, corky, quite furrowed bark. Leaves are
trifoliolate, with huge, Hybrid-Tea-rose-like prickles on the upper
side all along the midrib, and also on the underside on veins (I'm not
sure if just on the midrib). There are also big, thick prickles on
the twigs, usually two at a node and at least one on the internode.
Other than the prickles, the leaves remind me of Erythrina.

My friend has assumed it's a legume, and it may well be. It occurs to
me that it could also be Rutaceae, and I've asked him to look for
punctate dots on a leaf.

I'm reasonably good at Florida's native flora and much of our
cultivated exotic flora. I've never seen this plant before.

Any ideas? thanks.
Malcolm Manners


Could be Poncirus trifoliata. A picture would certainly be helpful...
http://tenn.bio.utk.edu/vascular/dat...0and%20Chester


-Philip

The leaves are much larger than Poncirus leaves. Leaflets are probably
close to 2 inches across. Also Poncirus does not have prickles. It
does have true thorns, at the nodes. I'm leaning toward erythrina.

If I can get a good digital picture, I'll try to post it.