[MikeHardman]

Thanks John.
I made reference to your earlier posting about the Kolossi Castle specimen (my post of 6jun). But I just checked it, and found I had messed up the link   Fixed now.
Glad to have you back.

[John J]

Thanks, Mike, I had forgotten that I had already posted that photo of the Kolossi Tipuana. I should have some photos somewhere of the root system being exposed in the 'dig' but can't find them at the moment. I'll post them when I do as an illustration of just how large and extensive they can get.
Fleur, I have not tried to propagate it although it produces masses of seeds every year. I'm sure others have though as there are a few trees around the area. One in particular in a garden at the end of our road is especially interesting due to its position and shape. I'll try to get photos of it to post and show what I mean.

[John J]

A search of old 'photo cards' has resulted in my finding the pics I was looking for. The roots of the Tipuana have invaded the ruins of the 13th C Sugar Mill and Factory next to the 14th C Castle. The ongoing archaeological dig has therefore uncovered them and led to a dilemma involving the Forestry Dept wanting to protect the tree and the Archaeology Dept wanting to continue their excavations. I'm afraid that the tree will probably be the one to suffer. Anyway, it goes to show just how far and wide the roots of this particular tree have been prepared to go in the search for water over the last 100+ years.

[MikeHardman]

Interesting shots, John.
I would have thought that if they continued to excavate carefully around the roots, the roots would continue to function - so long as the feeders at the distal end remained relatively intact. ...So it should not be necessary to make any decision to sacrifice the tree, per se. But I'm not an archaeologist.

[John J]

My main concern is that one day someone will decide that they are in the way and lop them off. Also my fear is that in the political power heirarchy the Forestry Dept rank somewhere below the Archaeology Dept.

[Marilyn]

Very interesting to see a mature specimen of this one. As others have commented, here in Portugal it is also frequently seen as a street tree but usually quite recently planted (within the last 20-30 years, I would say). We have many in the garden, and it is a good all-rounder; pleasant light shade and flowers, though they do make a mess, as do the leaves when they fall. Has a funny pattern of leaf-drop and leaf out, defoliating around March, messily, but in full leaf again sometime in May. Ours have been flowering for a couple of weeks now.

Regarding propagation by seed, they do sprout here unbidden. We had almost a plague of them in a patch of mulch made from the cut branches after they were pollarded last time, which is the usual maintenance routine here. This seems an extreme case though, after high rainfall and with the perfect drainage of the mulch; in the garden proper we do not see nearly so many.

[Hilary]

Continuing the saga of the Tipuana tipu at Kolossi, Cyprus I thought you might be interested in this post card received by my father in law in 1981.
Looking at the photo John posted the trees don't seem to have grown much since then

[MikeHardman]

Well, I had not found anything definitive written about the sexuality of this species.
But I passed the tree again today...
...And it has plenty of fruit, of good quality.
So I guess this sole tree fertilized itself.

[Fleur Pavlidis]

I'd be very grateful if you'd pick me some when the time comes.

[MikeHardman]

Fleur - I shall do my best for you!

[MikeHardman]

Fleur,

I did not get to go back to the tree until recently, hence the absence of seed from me.
But now I do have seed from it.
My sister Valerie is staying with me at the moment, and yesterday we went to Kolossi, where she collected seed from that venerable specimen (John Joynes was on hand to explain all about the tree and Kolossi Castle; most interesting).

Curiously, the samaras from the two specimens have different size distributions. Those from the Kolossi tree are 7-9cm long (mean ~8cm, 14 seeds)' those from Gialia are 5-7cm long (mean ~6cm, over 20 seeds).  Do bigger trees give bigger samaras, or does the size difference reflect some other factor? Based on my slim statistics, it is obviously open to conjecture.

I shall send you most of each collection.
Please PM / email me with your preferred address.

Cheers,
Mike

[John J]

In a posting I made over a year ago I mentioned a specimen of Tipuana tipu that is growing in front of a house at the end of our road and said I would one day get a photo of it. That day has eventually arrived and I took the following photos today. The tree was grown from seed taken from the century old specimen at Kolossi Castle but we don't have a definite age for it. Using a process of deduction we came to the conclusion that it is probably between 50-60 years old. From the second photo it would appear that it initially took off at a 45 degree angle before straightening up.

[Alisdair]

Or do you think it might have blown over earlier in its life, been lopped off, and then sent up a new upright stem? Windblown mulberries sometimes have that sort of look about them. A splendid tree, whatever!

[John J]

Certainly a possibility, Alisdair.

[MikeHardman]

Well the wonky trunk certainly adds character.