TINY PINK PEPPERCORNS

While out with the dogs today, along a long & meandering street,
we walked under a  CALIFORNIA PEPPER TREE (Schinus mole.).
I immediately picked up the lovely, subtle fragrance, & was immediately
transported back to when we lived in Arizona & I first discovered
this tree.  This scent brought back a flood of fond memories.

Although this tree is messy & can be invasive, I have always loved  
the lacy, feathery foliage & the twisted & gnarly trunk.  It is widely planted in California as a street tree, maybe because it is drought tolerant & because it can be a great shade tree. (SEE EXTRA)  There is a BIG TREE in San Juan Capistrano that measure 57 ft (17.37 Meters), which is the highest this fast growing tree can get.

This tree is native to the Peruvian desert & is also called the Peruvian Pink Pepper Tree.  It is not related to the commercial pepper plant, but the pink peppercorns are sold & blended with commercial pepper, in some places.

Today, I am most interested in the TINY peppercorns that hang from the tree.