Beasts of the Southern Wild 2/19/15

monster

Beast of the Southern Wild. I don’t know the dimensions of this monster, but I do know its name. It’s a Pithecellobium unguis (Catclaw blackbird), a genus and species completely new to me (and probably new to you too). I also know that this particular bonsai is about as unique as they get with nature doing most of the work and Nacho Marin providing the finishing touches.

I surrender. Incessant sub zero temperatures (Fahrenheit folks), snow every other day and now a nasty head cold. But still, it could be worse. In fact, it is worse. In Boston that is,  where there’s no place left to put the snow, street corners are piled so high that pedestrians can’t see the cars and the cars can’t see them. And no recourse with hit or miss public transportation with lines shutting down daily. I suppose the good news is that it will end. But when?

One recourse might be to visit South America. Venezuela in this case. More specifically, the bonsai of Nacho Marin, an artist who has burst into bonsai consciousness with intensity, daring and large doses of creativity. At the risk of overstating my case (an old habit), Nacho is an artist who stands out in a world where new and exciting bonsai seem to appear daily.

 

bougA fascinating trunk with an almost grotesque piled-up-on-itself look. And then there are the flowers (actually bracts, a strange thing about Bougainvillea).

 

button

We did a post on Nacho’s Buttonwoods a while back but missed this one. I probably don’t have say this, but this is a truly remarkable tree. So much great natural deadwood and such fluid movement. Powerful too.

 

boug2

Though comparisons are often odious, I like this Bougainvillea more than the one above. In fact, it’s better in so many ways, not the least of which is the massive trunk with its perfect sabamiki and fluid movement. Not to overlook the crown with its ‘just so’ mix of flowers (bracts again) and leaves (we’ll blame it on the head cold this time).

 

fic

No variety given with this one (Nacho & several others have since informed me that it’s a Nea buxifolia). It’s massive trunk and especially the bark look Ficus, though the leaves are small for most Ficus. Maybe someone out there can help.

All the tree shown here belong to Nacho Marin. You can see more on facebook and on his website.


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7 thoughts on “Beasts of the Southern Wild

  1. Stunning Photo’s! The pot for the first Bougainvillea is Perfect! The last photo of the Ficus? Is perfection! If you find any information on it, Please let us know. To me, The leaves look like a Kingsville Boxwood!

  2. I agree with Matt in it being a Neea Buxifolia(tropical boxwood). The leaves are way too small even for ficus and I know Nacho works with Neea also.

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