Los Angeles is home to an extraordinary diversity of trees, many with fascinating stories and unique adaptations to the local climate. In the “Meet This Tree” series, writer Emina Darakjy lovingly introduces readers to history, characteristics, and growing habits of species commonly found across Los Angeles, explaining how to recognize them and why they matter. These articles, each diving into one tree species, invite us to look more closely at the trees that shade our urban streets, parks, and gardens.
Emina Darakjy is a past president of Pasadena Beautiful and is its present Tree Program Chair. Emina is involved with several other tree organizations, such as California Re-Leaf, the Arbor Day Foundation, and American Forests. She is a past president of both Street Tree Seminar Inc. and of the California Urban Forests Council.
[Please note: these articles may include non-native trees and are provided for identification and information only, not as planting guidance or recommendations.]
Meet ThIS Tree: Melaleuca linariifolia, or Flaxleaf Paperbark
Meet This Tree: Calodendrum capense – Cape chestnut
Meet This Tree: Tipuana tipu – tipu tree
Meet this Tree: Handroanthus chrysotricha – Golden Trumpet Tree
Meet This Tree: Arbutus ‘Marina’ – Strawberry tree
Meet This Tree: Ceiba Speciosa – Floss Silk Tree
Meet This Tree: Corymbia Ficifolia – Red Flowering Gum
Meet This Tree: Bauhinia x blakeana – Hong Kong orchid tree
Meet This Tree: Pyrus Kawakami – Evergreen Pear
Meet This Tree: The New Zealand Christmas Tree
Meet This Tree: Quercus suber – Cork Oak
Meet This Tree: Cassia Leptophylla – Gold Medallion Tree
Meet this Tree: Albizia julibrissin – Silk tree, Mimosa tree
Meet This Tree: Hymenosporum flavum commonly known as Sweetshade
Meet This Tree: Magnolia grandiflora – Southern magnolia
Meet This Tree: Pink Cloud Cherry Blossom Tree
Meet This Tree: Cedar Deodar
Meet This Tree: Afrocarpus falcatus – African fern pine
Meet This Tree: Callistemon Citrinus – Lemon Bottlebrush
Meet This Tree: Cercis canadensis – ‘Forest Pansy’ eastern redbud
Meet This Tree: Magnolia x soulangeana – Saucer Magnolia
Meet This Tree: Ginkgo Biloba
Meet This Tree: The Chinese Pistache
Meet this Tree: Lagerstroemia indica – Crape Myrtle
All photos copyright and courtesy of Emina Darakjy.
Articles by Emina Darakjy for The Larchmont Buzz.