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| Ceibo |
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| Sapo game |
Today we crossed the Rosario-Victoria bridge (long bridge over the Paraná river, longer causeway across the wetlands) to Estancia “El Cerrito” for asado (barbeque), a folklore show (with audience participation dancing at the end), some fierce games of sapo (coin toss with a bronze toad’s gaping maw as target) and lots of lazing around in the sun or shade, depending on preference.
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| Ombú |
And I learned three new trees today: Ceibo, Ombú, and Paraíso (Paradise). Trees I’d read about–the first two, anyway–but hadn’t seen or identified. Our friendly hostess shared a number of other plant names with me, but I can evidently retain only a few at a time. I learned the Palo Borracho’s name the other day, though I’d been taking pictures of it for a while. The trunk looks swollen (source of borracho–drunk?), with thick spines, then nips in almost as if collared before the branches spread, but the fiber inside the seedpods is incredibly fine and silky.
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| Ceibo– Argentina’s national flower |
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Paraíso. Kids call the seeds–loose skins, hard pits–
“venenitos” (that is, poison). They’re popular,
and painful, additions to Carnival water balloons. |
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| Palo borracho |
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| Palo borracho seed pod |
I also saw tantalizingly varied birds out the bus window: Lots of herons, but also one that looked like a long-beaked storks. Huge, fat raptors of some kind, eagle-sized, some flying, some perched, some waddling. With a kind of crest on the head, I think. But, of course, traveling too fast to be sure. Will have to try to get closer another time. Unidentified birds, plenty of cattle, lots of sunshine. My eyes are still prickling a little from the glare.
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| Trust me. Birds abound. |
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| As do cattle. |
7 responses to “Today’s word harvest: three new trees”
I think I could spend a lifetime learning to identify all the different plants and critters I run across here in Argentina! I particularly like the palo borracho with its cottony seed pods. My friend Beatrice has a nice blog about the trees of Buenos Aires, many of which are found in other parts of Argentina: http://losarbolesdebuenosaires.blogspot.com/
Thanks for sharing the link, Katie! Beatrice’s blog has some lovely photos–including the palo borracho flower, which I haven’t seen “in person” (though I heard quite a bit about how slippery the flowers can make the sidewalk after a rain).
Palo borracho flowers are quite pretty. I hope you have the opportunity to admire them in person.
I’m glad you enjoyed Beatrice’s blog. She’s a professional photographer, which explains why her photos are so lovely! 🙂
I love reading your blog because I love how you use language. You are truly a master of choosing the most evocative words… This is even more apparent to me when I see your photos.
Thank you, Linda!
One summer in the bookcase of the old house we rented in Nova Scotia I found a field guide to plants and went pacing about in the briars and nettles and was surprised what a fine time I had.
A rewarding briar patch, a chortle of nettles– your mention of the old house in Nova Scotia reminds me of the family friends’ cabin in Maine (off Maine) we visited one summer, though I wasn’t reading tree books then.