Oh, and here’s a picture.
Not a mimosa tree. My memory of the tree most closely resembles a cherry blossom tree.
I’ve always found Bradford Pears to smell like semen, and they give you the snowflake effect. They’re everywhere around here.
They had several dozen surrounding the cafeteria at my high school, along with some sort of tree that smelled like tuna crotch. Appetizing.
This is Ailanthus altissima:
If it reminds you of a cherry blossom tree, then it’s probably a bradford pear (Prunus calleryana), which had wretched nasty blossoms and not much else going for them other than a spring show.
This is the semen tree that grows in Santa Fe, NM that’s blooming right now. It’s a naturalized sumac-type tree… I don’t think it’s native.
Yeah, I’m leaning toward Bradford pear. I have heard people discussing them commonly as ornamentals in the North Georgia area. Plus, my mental image is more a sparse and vertical tree, which is closer to a Bradford than a cherry tree.
Sorry for bringing up a tree identification thread when all I had is a memory and a smell, but I think it’s the Bradford pear.
I have Bradford pear trees at my house.
I am also familiar with semen-smelling trees in these parts.
The ones I know of are not Bradford pear trees. They are Ailanthus altissima.
Here’s a closeup of Bradford Pear blossoms.
Here’s a shot of the tree.
I’m suspecting Bradfor Pears, as well. They get used right much in landscaping because they’re pretty, but they’re also very weak wooded and tend to break up pretty easily.
I’ve noticed the semen smell, as well, but the smell is pretty common to lots of different pollens.
The gingko tree that smell so bad is only the female (IIRC) - they stink to high heaven and don’t smell anything like semen (of course, if your semen smells like a female gingko tree fruit, you may want to visit a doctor pronto - something’s wrong in your plumbing).
Would that be considered a money shot?
I’m thinking the ones here in Denver are Bradford pears. That’s what the flowers look like.
They don’t stink as badly when they aren’t flowering, but they do stink.
Errrrm we have that over here in the UK too. The only name I’ve ever known it by was ‘The Cum Bush’.