Hypericum calycinum Here is a link that might be useful: Aaronsbeard

I don't know what it is, but i cut one down on my property. It grew from seed and within two years, it was about 25 feet tall! I have seen them planted in parking lots here and also growing wild (not sure if native or introduced) in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada (Millerton Lake to be more specific).

Yeah, I'm still wondering about the avocados. I had trouble growing them in my back yard when I planted a tree in the ground because my soil does not drain properly, but there is an incredibly huge avocado tree just down the street from me. Anyway, I ended up planting one in a whiskey barrel planter so that I could control the drainage better, and it produces avocados. However, I noticed a few months ago that the soil level was lowered by about 6-8", and I thought the tree had used up all the soil. Last week we transplanted it to a new whiskey barrel planter, and what had happened was that the barrel had rotten at the bottom, and everything just sank down. The tree was not root-bound, but now it has a lot more new soil. Anyway, you can get avocados from trees in planters. Mine is a dwarf.

Thanks, Sierra. I don't think they will winter over in my zone, and these are in someone else's yard right now. But I am going to look for them for next year and maybe put them in a pot. I get tired of seeing the same-old same-old in the fall, and this caught my eye as something a little different blooming. The yard-owner has a pale yellow marigold behind it, a low-growing red maple behind that, and the variegated purple sweet potato vine coming over the wall in front of it all. Nice colors. They have some of the usual mums, too, but in colors that pick up the other plants. Nice use of a tiny front planting area at a city row house.