Just ID'd Four o' Clocks outside my kitchen door (or rather, my mom did when she came to visit). What are they and do I have to cut 'em down (don't wanna)?
Had a moment of excitement, thinking I'd found an American Chestnut about 15 feet tall across a pasture from the house. But sadly, on closer examination, it's Cephalanthus occidentalis, "button bush."
I do have Elliottia racemosa, "Georgia Plume" in the yard, which was unknown in this area and endangered in-state in 1990 (when my copy of Trees of Georgia and Adjacent States was printed). This one I'm absolutely sure of; it matches leaves, fruit, and bark, and the fruit is distinctive. Guess I'll call my extension agent and tell her about it, though she may make me cut my yellowbells that are creeping in on it.