Trees of McLaren Park: Canary Island Pine, Pinus canariensis
My mom tells me that she used to marvel at the Canary Island Pines that lined Beverly Boulevard in Whittier, California when she was a kid. My mom grew up in Whittier, first on the flat lands near the then-undammed San Gabriel River, then up the hill after the state claimed her family's property through eminent domain to build the 605 Freeway. Her dad ran cattle in Sycamore Canyon of the Whittier Hills and fought against a landfill that would have turned that wild canyon into a dump. That history is almost completely erased from that part of Southern California now, but on Google Maps you can still find the old bath tub my grandfather used to water his cattle, Sycamore Canyon is still untouched, and the Canary Island Pines still line Beverly Boulevard. Here, in a completely different part of the state, a beautiful Canary Island Pine grows in my neighbor's backyard and others grow in a couple different spots in McLaren Park. Canary Island Pine, Pinus canariensis Shape: ...
