Does it have catkins?

Looks to be from the Hornbeam / Hop Hornbeam / Birch family.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Weekend Arborist

thanks hazelmn, it is not a birch it doesn't have the characteristic bark and birches don't have the leaves set like a hand :-/ and a hornbeam has, I believe, more prominent indention lines on the leaves. Frustrating it is!

Evelyn
PS: would you be able to give me tips on propagating? I want to cut a branch and try rooting it, think spring would be the correct time? softwood? hardwood? any tips are welcome

We have to know what it is first but you can try different types of cuttings and some rooting hormone and see what happens.
I want to say linden. I want to say hornbeam, I want to say birch or even poplar.
It looks so native but is most likely an exotic since nobody can figure out what it is. Down in Florida there are thousands upon thousands of exotic plants from all over the world, it's anybody's guess.

Whenever you come across trees that you suspect may be grown outside the USA as well,

Try TreeWorld.info - Australians and US users there. The Californians seem to have a fair collection too. See link...

Here is a link that might be useful: Tree World Tree Forums

I'd say it looks like something in the Araliaceae family (Ginseng Family) or possibly the Bignoniaceae (Trumpet Creeper Family)based on the palmate compound leaves. I can't tell if the leaves are alternate or opposite. If you could find any remnants of flowers and/or fruit, that could narrow it down some more. If it's in the Bignoniaceae family, it will have showy flowers at some time of year in case you've ever seen flowers on it.

This one has been bothering me for a while, because I have no clue what it is. I was just at Sea World with my family today, and I saw it all over the place there. If no one has figured it out by Tuesday, I'll ask one of the plant taxonomists at work.

Maybe since Sea World is open today somebody can ask them if somebody is around in the tree dept. Was there a certain location at the park that you saw them?

I couldn't tell you a specific location, but it was scattered throughout. I was tempted to take a twig home with me, but I chickened out.

Yeah if you get caught doing that, they feed ya to Shamu. :-)

I searched and searched for tree farms in that area that post their inventory online and only found two. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except one of them had japanese cedars and I was surprised to see that.

"Maybe since Sea World is open today somebody can ask them if somebody is around in the tree dept"

They have a tree department???

I'd bet they contract out their grounds management and don't have the faintest clue what trees they have growing . . . seeing as trees don't have fins and can't swim!

Resin

>I'd bet they contract out their grounds management and don't have the faintest clue what trees they have growing . . . seeing as trees don't have fins and can't swim!

Here is a link that might be useful: HORTICULTURIST I - SeaWorld Orlando - Orlando, FL : Indeed.com

PR, Sea World is one of the mammoth theme parks. I would be really surprised if the didn't have their own trained gardeners and landscapers and groundskeepers. It's not like an office park where maybe they come by once every week or two. Calling it a tree dept was just to abbreviate all that.

quirky, it doesn't seem to make sense for a landscape company to plant an exotic unusual tree on a corporate lot. of course if those trees are all over SeaWorld that should make it somewhat easier to ID it. Saccharum, I am eagerly awaiting Tuesday :-)
I checked on Seaworld website, of course there is nowhere info on their botanical stuff.

Evelyn

OK! I thought they were just a big aquarium that might have some fairly inconsequential grounds planting as a minor surround, rather than anything special in its own right.

The foliage matches Tabebuia fairly well, tho' I'm not familiar with the genus so can't say for sure.

Resin

Well then that's likely to be what it is, as this is a favorite flowering tree in suitable climates - just the kind of thing they would be likely to have at a place like Sea World.

You can see they are doing flashy plantings right in the picture put up here, look at the landscaping around the tree shown.

The San Diego Zoo also features plants as well as animals.

tabebuja impetiginosa .... still, all images I find of the leaves don't show them with toothed edging.

Thanks again for all your help,

Evelyn

I thought Tabebuia, but the leaves on most Tabebui sps. aren't toothed at all. Also, most all Tabebuia sps. are deciduous(mostly summer deciduous) and flower during their leafless period with extraordinarily showy flowers (mostly yellow, rarely pink) and I would of thought that would be noticed. But there is at least a couple of species of Tabebuia which have the toothed leaflets like in the photo which is Tabebuia serratifolia and Tabebuia impetiginosa. Easiest way to tell these 2 apart is, T. serratifolia has yellow flowers, while T. impetiginosa has pink flowers.

Tabebujas are very large trees, I read they grow up to 150 feet (ok, maybe not in Orlando), the tree I photographed just does not look like it would grow 'up' to such a huge size. The overall form reminds me more of a Crape Myrtle.

It's not tabebuia. Please try again.

This tree is driving me insane!

today is Tuesday... I am hoping saccharum didn't forget saying: 'I'll ask one of the plant taxonomists at work.'

I didn't forget, folks... :-)

Unfortunately, it didn't ring a bell for the taxonomist I was able to find this morning, at least not from the picture. She did suggest Tabebuia, but she couldn't think of any species with serrated margins that would be a good match otherwise. We went through the herbarium specimens for that genus, and didn't find anything even close. She suggested she could do some more searching, but I couldn't ask her to do that based on a photo.

Our senior botanist wasn't in, though, and I'll try him next. He's amazing.

I'm kicking myself for not clipping a twig at Sea World, but I was there with my wife and 6-year-old. They're pretty tolerant of my tree interests, but if I'd gotten scolded by the staff there, I'd never have heard the end of it.

Abendwolke, if you are able to get a twig with foliage from your tree (preferably one that shows leaf arrangement, and intact buds if any are present), the botanist I spoke to is interested to see it. I have no doubt they'd be able to key it out from a sample. It might even make it into the herbarium, if they don't have it already. Email me through website (click on my name above), and I'll send you my work address.

>They're pretty tolerant of my tree interests, but if I'd gotten scolded by the staff there, I'd never have heard the end of itClear it with them beforehand, maybe even ending up with one of them clipping a piece for you - thereby making it "legitimate".

"maybe even ending up with one of them clipping a piece for you"

Then you'd probably end up having to carry a huge big branch around with you ;-)

Afraid to get caught pulling some leaves off a tree?!

It's not like you're lifting a few items from the souvenir shop.

It's likely a tree in the Genus Tabebuia, they are planted for their spectacular flowers. I did search in the genus Tabebuia before anyone posted but all I found was smooth leaflets like most others did also.

I did recently find some tooth pictures of Pink Lapacho below, I guess the species can have toothed or smooth edge leaflets.

Here is some toothed Pink Lapacho (Tabebuia impetiginosa):

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:478181}}

Saccharum, I have sent you a message through gardenweb....

Treeguy, the leaves on your picture are toothed, and so my muystery tree is a tabebuia aferall? still the overall tree form doesn't seem like one.

I am willing to 'steal' a branch,.... I am blonde, I will get away with it, "biggrin*

Abendwolke, for some reason the email hasn't reached me. I'll try sending you my contact info through the website, instead. If that doesn't work, my work email (hopefully altered enough to avoid attracting the spambots) is: eickwoj AT doacs DOT state DOT fl DOT us

I haven't ruled Tabebuia out myself, but even the serrate-margined examples I've seen were quite different from this tree.

What might make it even more likely to be in the Genus Tabebuia is because in the picture below (if you look very close) you can see little "joints" below each leaflet just like in abendwolke's picture. I also found a picture of a Tabebuia in a tropical page that had wider leaflets and bigger teeth more like abendwolke's picture but Gardenweb won't allow the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:478181}}

ok, I have sent off a branch this morning, saccharum, you should have it by tomorrow, hopefully.

And hopefully the name of this tree will be known soon.

Evelyn

Hey folks,

I got the sample from Abendwolke, and brought it to the botanists. They said it was definitely Tabebuia sp., based on the leaf arrangement and some characteristics on the underside of the leaflets (visible under a microscope). As far as the species goes, they were reluctant to even try to say without being able to see the flowers - apparently the Tabebuia identification keys require the inflorescence.

However, with it here in front of me, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I think Treeguy123 is the one that got it right - I think it's T. impetiginosa. See {{gwi:478182}} for that species, and the drawings in this fact sheet (.pdf) for comparison. Leaflets look right, form looks right, etc.

That one was listed at one of the nurseries websites that I checked but I guess I overlooked it. Then when someone suggested it, I dismissed it.

Here is a link that might be useful: here's what it looks like in a big container

It has a leaf arrangement like that of a Schefflera, tho obviously its not that. Could be something in the Legume family(Fabiaceae) or Bignoniaceae.

Hi Greenlarry,

Bit late there! . . . it's been confirmed as Tabebuia (which is in Bignoniaceae, so your last one is on target ;-)

Resin

Ah, I didnt read all the posts, I just jumped in as I was curious to what it was.

You guys are marvelous at this tree ID - I'm going to coerce you for help someday !!

M.D. Vaden of Oregon

Turf to Trees