Thursday, October 06, 2011

A Bit Of Nature In An Unexpected Place On Smith

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I almost missed it, but there it was, growing high above Smith Street, barely hanging on to a piece of metal.  Obviously, it found enough up there to survive.  That's one tough plant.

3 comments:

lad1818 said...

That is cool. It's got a nice view up there.

Eymund said...

That's and Empress Tree, or Paulownia tomentosa seedling. A century ago, the light seed pods used to be used like our modern styrofoam pellets for packing China porcelain. This why Empress trees are common in places where Chinese crates were unloaded from the ships or rail cars. You can see full grown specimens growing out of the concrete at the Union Street Bridge on the Gowanus Canal.

Katia said...

Thanks, Eymund. I had no idea. I love the trees at the Union Street Bridge. They look beautiful in the spring when they have their light purple flowers.
I wonder how big this little guy will get high up on his perch above Smith Street.