Apparently grows very tall, I saw adults a hundred feet tall with tiny silver leaves growing on small branches sporadically on the trunk.
"Calijito" in quechua is what a local told me.
Cusco, Peru. Very strong spearmint smell from a hundred feet away, silvery powder on the leaves
19 Comments
LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net · 8 pts · 312d
Definitely Eucalyptus. Species ID won’t be easy on a young plant. There are hundreds of species, and many look quite similar.
bitofarambler@crazypeople.online · 4 pts · 312d
That app nailed it then, but I'm way too unfamiliar with plant species. I didn't realize the giant trees around were adults until after I met that local who showed me the big trees were the same tree.
Thanks, I'm going to go back out on the mountain and see if I can ID them again. And get a good lungful of spearmint. It's crazy strong.
korendian@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 312d
expatriado@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 312d
Peruvian here, not saying the id is correct, but commenting that Eucalyptus were brought to South America from Australia over a century ago and now are so common that many don't realize is an imported species
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 312d
the leaves suspiciously look like eucalytpus in the background if you zoom up, but could be the angle of the elaves.
bitofarambler@crazypeople.online · 5 pts · 312d
A plant ID app said it was eucalyptus, but it didn't look like any of the pictures the app gave me for eucalyptus.
But if that's the first thing you came up with, I'm tempted to reassess.
Thanks!
ultranaut@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 312d
Eucalyptus look quite different when young, you may have been only seeing pictures of mature specimens.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 5 pts · 312d
from looking at google pics of Eucalyptus globosa, young leaves yea it looks like it. plus in the background there are some taller trees that have leaves suspiciously like eucalyptus, although it could be the angle of the leaves.
bitofarambler@crazypeople.online · 4 pts · 312d
Thanks, I'm going to reexamine everything, you could easily be right.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 312d
ryannathans@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 312d
Yeah looks like it hey
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 312d
INHALE_VEGETABLES@aussie.zone · 5 pts · 312d
Reminds me of some types of gum trees here in 🇦🇺
There's one that's actually called peppermint gum, but it's not that one.
bitofarambler@crazypeople.online · 4 pts · 312d
Interesting, thank you. I think a plant ID app said it was some kind of Australian Blue gum or eucalyptus, but none of the pictures looked like what i saw, so maybe I discounted that ID inaccurately.
INHALE_VEGETABLES@aussie.zone · 3 pts · 312d
Yeah something like that!
Here's a blue gum next to your pic, I'm not totally sold on that species. I'm told a good way to identify them very specifically is by looking at their flowers and counting the... Really tiny bits on it.
It could be something else completely, but it does look like some kind of gum to me.
I dunno how it ended up in your part of the world, but I do know a fun fact that a shit load of some type of gum trees went to California many years ago, and they certainly helped fuel the fires they had a year ago. They are loaded with oil that I think give off that delicious smell, and they burn very happily and then recover to do it again.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 312d
blue gum has been introduced to peru, its considered invasive in california, and a fire hazard./
INHALE_VEGETABLES@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 312d
I'm going to get downvoted out the arsehole for posting this horrible meme from the time.
Pretty dank though ngl
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 312d
it is pretty true, plus theres another reason the invasive tree is still growing there, because people think its an iconic tree and shouldnt be cut down and its "protected". it grows all along the coastal areas, and around north cal lakes, and on campus of a university i went too, i identified at least more than just blue gum growing around there, there seems to 1 or 2 other species in there with the "blue gum". they have another more exotic one growing on campus, the rainbow gum, that one doesnt seem to be established or grown in the wild, only as ornamental, its a tropical species.
INHALE_VEGETABLES@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 312d
Omg I germinated a rainbow gum from seed 8t got taller than I am then died from fungal root issues. Truly a sad day but I think they are invasive here and not native technically, i think it's from up north like the Philippines.
Sorry about those fires though, truly.
bitofarambler@crazypeople.online · 2 pts · 312d
wow, that is totally wild. thanks, those leaves look very similar to these guys here, I'm excited to get back up the mountain and hang out with them again. huffin' that gum!
INHALE_VEGETABLES@aussie.zone · 3 pts · 312d
You can play music with the leaves as well, I shit you not! 👍
https://youtu.be/0mZ11pA1oKE
I used to do it with the really long gum leaves, you fold them over itself three times and blow in the side.
It vibrates against you lips like chalk against a board. Horrible!
bitofarambler@crazypeople.online · 3 pts · 312d
Great video, thanks! crazy, I used to do that with grass blades as a kid!
That guy has the talent, though.