Before last Thursday's Texas Master Naturalist tour, I invited biologist Robert Edmonson to stop by our gardens. Robert has been with the Texas A&M Forest Service for more than 30 years and offices in Johnson City. I had some tree questions for him, like were our Blanco crabapple and possumhaw trees dead? (Yes, likely so.)
While we were strolling the paths in our back yard, he stopped by a small tree and touched the leaves.
"This a Carolina buckthorn," he said.
I glanced down, then politely protested. After all, my SIGN said Mexican silktassel.
"Look at the leaves," Robert pointed out. "They're alternate. Silktassels are opposite. This is a buckthorn."
At that precise moment, a light bulb exploded in my head.
"OH, I think I know what the problem is," I said. Then I led him across the yard and stopped in front of our Carolina buckthorn.
Which, in that moment, magically transformed into a Mexican silktassel.
Robert laughed, then told a similar story on himself. But we'll keep that one between ourselves.
P.S. James and I bought the two species at the same time in Boerne in 2019. That's how I got them mixed up. I'm so glad Robert caught my mistake!
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| Mexican silktassel |
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| Carolina buckthorn |
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