Trees with odd names

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Venturan Ventura, CA(Zone 10b) Jan 26, 2008

Hi all,
Gotta fun challenge for ya: I need to come up with a list of trees with odd names.

I am hosting an Amazing Race-type event for my friends around our town with trees being the theme. One station I want to call "A tree or not a tree, that is the question" and have a list of real and fake names that participants have to figure/find out whether or not it's a real tree or not.

Thanks in advance,
Michael

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Resin Northumberland, United Kingdom(Zone 9a) Jan 26, 2008

Eastern Juniper Juniperus virginiana is often oddly called "eastern red cedar", i.e., Cedrus virginiana

Manitoba Maple Acer negundo is often oddly called "box elder", i.e., Sambucus negundo

Various other similar oddities around!

Resin

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ViburnumValley Scott County, KY(Zone 5b) Jan 26, 2008

Eastern Wahoo (Euonymus atropurpureus)
Devil's Walkingstick (Aralia spinosa)
Seven Sons Flower (Heptacodium miconioides)
Rat Stripper (Paxistima canbyi)
Wild Raisin ((Viburnum cassinoides)
Dog Hobble (Viburnum lantanoides)
Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus)
Crybaby-tree (Erythrina crista-galli)

Plenty more where these come from...





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growin Beautiful, BC(Zone 8b) Jan 26, 2008

Monkey Puzzle Tree (Araucaria araucana)
Upside-down Tree (Adansonia digitata)
kotukutuku (Fuchsia excorticata)
Guanabana (Annona muricata)

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Venturan Ventura, CA(Zone 10b) Jan 26, 2008

never heard of most of these...cool

last night, I went to an exotic wood site for woodworking. Came across some fun ones, then added an anecdote to muddy the waters a little more.

Africa
Bloodwood – I bet it’s messy to cut down
Bubinga – get your mind out of the gutter!
Tambootie – baby got back!
Zebrawood – easily noticed by its green and red stripes?

Latin America
Cocobolo –better for you than a bowl o’ coco?
Coyote - awoooooooooooooo
Leopardwood – hard to “spot,” it sits there quietly blending in with its surroundings
Monkey pod – anything like a banana tree?
Purpleheart – so THAT’S what the award is made out of!
Tulipwood – I thought those only grew in the Spring


N. America
Birds eye maple – is that where they get those frozen peas from?
Black Cherry – or just a good soda?
Koa – hey, I’ve camped there before!
Locust – akin to grasshopperwood?
Mesquite – home, home on the range
Sassafras –

Th N. America ones might be obvious to most of you, but I don't think you'll find most of em out here in So Cal by the beach.

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Colquhoun Champaign, IL(Zone 5b) Jan 30, 2008

American Tulip Tree a.k.a Tulip Popular, Yellow Popular.. which is really a primative Magnolia.
The hellish.. Tree of Heaven has always struck me as oddly named.

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CoreHHI Bluffton, SC(Zone 9a) Jan 30, 2008

N. American trees are well know. Bird's eye in expensive furniture and Mesquite is known by anyone with a grill. Common wood used for flavor. The others are less known but still well known.

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