Mystical Dragon and other American Tropical Jewels 11/10/16

kempenski

Rugged dynamic deadwood. It's a  Buttonwood by Robert Kempinski from his Mahogany Row Studio.

Today is our last full day of an all too short Florida Keys’ vacation. Tomorrow it’s back to the freezing North. Before we pull on our long pants and head out, this seems like a good time to take a look at some Florida Buttonwoods, our American tropical jewel.  The photos shown here and some of the text appeared almost exactly one year ago today. One of many Bark posts that feature Buttonwoods.

buttonwoodsenru

This one belongs to Mary Madison. John Naka called her the Buttonwood Queen. The tree's name, Senru (Mystical Dragon) was also bestowed by Mr Naka, a man who in the course of long and illustrious life, displayed many talents (including naming). This photo and the story are from Bonsai Mary.

 

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ButtonwoodOne of our favorites. We've shown this now famous Buttonwood by Ed Trout several times over the years. The sad news about this beautiful tree is that it was stolen in 2008, and as far as I know, was never recovered.

 

JimSmithI found this monster by Jim Smith in the Of Bonsai Magazine. I couldn’t find any dimensions, but the article on Buttonwoods that accompanies the photo is very thorough. BTW: Jim Smith was an original American tropical bonsai guru.

 

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Mother Nature’s handiwork, with a little help from Robert Kempinski. From the Art of Bonsai Project.

 

This wild unique tree could only be a buttonwood. Also by Robert Kempinski from the Art of Bonsai Project.

 

They aren’t all small enough for bonsai. This photo is from Bonsai Mary. Though this one is exceptional, I've seen a few here on the Keys that might come in a close second.

 

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