Florida seedling...

[treeguy]

I stole this as a sapling from a treeline in Disney World. It was just another weed/unintended resident in a typical treeline border between a parking lot and a road. It was not like any of the trees or shrubs that I saw. I've had it for 2+ years. The attractive 4" long x 2" wide leaves have nice texture and color, are not as thick or stiff as ficus, and are slightly wavy. Each twig has 3 pairs of leaves with long, straight, thin internodes. It did not respond to leaf size reduction/ramification so it won't be a bonsai subject. It will make a nice looking houseplant. It has thin stems, but doesn't sucker (yet). What am I?

 

[roadrunner]

That kind of reminds me of a small tree I dug up from the front of my yard, because it was in deep shade. I now have it in a pot, trying to ID it, so I can determine what to do with it.

I was thinking it may have been a Southern Magnolia, but the leaves are just a little different. I'll try and take a pic and post it here.

BTW, I collect a lot of leaves and such from other yards that leave out bags of yard waste, so maybe that's how I got it....

 

[treeguy]

I employ birds. They bring me stuff and I don't even have to feed them! Of course they don't always plant them where I would prefer...

 

[roadrunner]

I employ birds. They bring me stuff and I don't even have to feed them! Of course they don't always plant them where I would prefer...

That's another possibility for me also, since I have tons of birds visiting my yard since going native; I see a new species every year.

Here's the pics of the tree I dug up and put in a container for now until I ID it.

 

[treeguy]

Similar appearance of the leaf, but different arrangement, mine in opposite pairs, yours alternate. Keep looking, it is probably a native because I looked all over in the landscaping and didn't see it. There were wild areas nearby, but I have an aversion to snakes and other monsters hiding in Florida jungles, so I didn't wander into the bush. (They eat chickens, don't they?)

 

[Silentrunning]

I would say it is a Mexican Blue Oak, Quercus oblongifolia, that is being grown out of its native element. At Disney you never know where the trees come from. Once they are moved to a different climate they can modify their characteristics thru adaptation. The shiny leaves are not seen in their original habitat but might be a modification resulting from your climate.

 

[treeguy]

I would say it is a Mexican Blue Oak, Quercus oblongifolia, that is being grown out of its native element. At Disney you never know where the trees come from. Once they are moved to a different climate they can modify their characteristics thru adaptation. The shiny leaves are not seen in their original habitat but might be a modification resulting from your climate.

Looks like RoadRunner's.

 

[roadrunner]

That's another possibility for me also, since I have tons of birds visiting my yard since going native; I see a new species every year.

Here's the pics of the tree I dug up and put in a container for now until I ID it.

View attachment 49185View attachment 49186

When I took the pics above I forgot to take a pic of another plant next to it that I found late in 2018 after chopping down a lot of summer growth, that looks about the same as the above, but with smaller and less shinny leaves.

Hopefully it will produce flowers soon, so I can ID it.

It looks kind of rough now, but I think that's because it didn't like the cold, but hopefully it starts growing fast now that it's warming up...

 

[treeguy]

Mine is thicker with no puffiness inbetween veins. The first one may be more like it, but I think I won't be able to ID until it flowers. (like you)

 

[roadrunner]

To be continued....

 

[treeguy]

Yes, nothing is sure until somebody finds the mother, or it flowers.