Trees - small families

Trees - Small Families

Laurel Family - Lauraceae

Bay Laurel Laurus nobilis

Native to the Mediterranean Region. Common in Mediterranean maquis but also widely cultivated in gardens and urban areas.


Habit	Flowers	Flowers	Flower

Leaves	Leaves	Leaves	Bark

Plane Family - Platanaceae

Oriental Plane Platanus orientalis

Native through the eastern Mediterranean Region from Italy to the Caucasus and Iran. Common along shady watercourses, but also widely planted as a shade tree, especially in smaller towns and villages, where the species often features in town squares.


Leaves	Leaf	Flowers	Flowers

Fruit	Winter twig	Trunk

Buckthorn Family - Rhamnaceae

Mediterranean Buckthorn Rhamnus alaternus

Native throughout the Mediterranean Region.


Leaves	Leaves	Leaves	Leaves

Fruit	Fruit

Elm Family - Ulmaceae

Small-leaved Elm Ulmus minor subsp. minor

Native throughout Europe to Central Asia and North-west Africa. Leaves relatively small, typically less than 10cm, smooth above (though with some hairs at first), slightly asymmetrical at the base, or more or less symmetrical; relatively narrow and long-tipped, though often broader and more rounded on sucker growths. Winged fruits smooth. Winter buds with simple, whitish hairs.


Habit	Sucker leaves	Leaves	Leaf

Flowers	Fruit	Winter bud	Bark

Hemp Family - Cannabaceae

Southern Nettle Tree Celtis australis

Native to the Mediterranean Region, eastwards to Iran. Frequent in wooded places and also regularly planted as a street tree.


Leaves	Leaf	Leaf

Fruit and leaves	Fruit	Fruit	Bark

Mulberry Family - Moraceae

White Mulberry Morus alba

Native to central China and widely naturalised through much of the world and cultivated for its fruit and as a source of food for silkworms. Leaves hairless and often shiny above, hairy only on the veins beneath; typically unlobed on older plants but may be deeply 3- to 5-lobed on young plants or on vigorous regrowth after pruning. Fruits are typically white but may darken to pink or purple when mature and best told from those of Black Mulberry by their longer stalks.


Leaves	Leaf	Leaf underside	Male flowers

Female flowers	Fruit	Winter twig	Bark

Common Fig Ficus carica

Probably native to the eastern Mediterranean, eastwards to Iran, but long cultivated elsewhere and well-established and cultivated.


Leaf	Leaf	Flower

Young fruit	Mature fruit	Winter twig	Bark

Walnut Family - Juglandaceae

White Walnut Juglans regia

(Common Walnut) native from North-east Turkey and the Caucasus to Lebanon and Pakistan. Commonly planted for its edible nuts.


Leaf	Spring leaves	Male flowers	Female flowers

Fruit	Winter twig	Bark

Willow Family - Salicaceae

Grey Poplar Populus x canescens

Native to much of Europe, eastwards to Central Asia but also much planted as a shade tree. Suckers freely, especially in coastal situations where the height is reduced by winds, to produce dense thickets. Leaves and first-year growth densely covered in white hairs at first, but these hairs mostly drop off during the summer; leaves shallowly lobed, a little more deeply so on vigorous shoots and suckers. Bark pale, studded with dark, diamond-shaped marks; often craggy and deeply ridged at the base. A hybrid between White Poplar and Aspen but probably all trees are from commercial stock and were originally planted.


Male flowers	Male flowers	Crown leaves	Sucker leaves

Winter twig of older growth	Bark

Afghan Poplar Populus nigra 'Afghanica'

A cultivated form, probably originating from Central Asia but parentage uncertain; widely planted from the Balkans and Turkey to Central Asia. Resembles Lombardy Poplar but has distinctly pale bark and branches.

Habit

Purple Loosestrife Family - Lythraceae

Pomegranate Punica granatum

Introduced from Asia Minor and commonly planted for its fruit and for ornament. A double-flowered form is sometimes found in gardens.


Flower bud	Flowers	Double flowers	Leaves

Leaf	Fruit	Fruit

Mahogany Family - Meliaceae

Indian Bead-tree Melia azedarach

(Persian Lilac, Chinaberry) Native from India and southern China to northern and eastern Australia.


Habit	Leaves	Flowers	Flower

Fruit	Winter twig	Bark	Bark

Mallow Family - Malvaceae

Kurrajong Bottle Tree Brachychiton populneus

Native to eastern Australia. Often planted in towns and cities as a street tree.


Habit	Flowers	Flower	Leaves

Leaves	Fruit	Fruit	Bark

Tamarisk Family - Tamaricaceae

Hampe's Tamarisk Tamarix hampeana

Native to the eastern Mediterranean, from Sicily and Albania eastward. Common in wet places. Has flowers with 4-5 parts and flower spikes to 10mm wide with petals to 4mm long (Tamarix parviflora has flowers 4-parted, spikes 3-6mm wide and petals to only 2mm long).


Flowers	Flowers	Flowers	Flowers

Flower	Flower buds	Leaves	Stem

Figwort Family - Scrophulariaceae

Ngaio Myoporum laetum

Native to New Zealand. Frequently planted in the Mediterranean Region as an ornamental bush or hedge. Several species occur in the Mediterranean, but references contradict each other as to identification features, so separation is currently not possible.