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It has massive green leaves that stay green through out the year, purple flowers in clusters that bloom from early spring through out the summer. And it's in Spain :) Any help appreciated! Thank you.

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Ana
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  • need a clear image of the leaves - under magnification, this photo is too fuzzy to see clearly. Paulownia tomentosa springs to mind, but the leaves don't look big enough, though its hard to tell, not much in the pic to show scale – Bamboo Nov 18 '15 at 14:17
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    Thank you for your answer. I have attached another photo of a close up of the leaf. Hope this helps :) – Ana Nov 18 '15 at 14:56
  • Can we get a better idea of the overall size of the plant? Comparing to the wall in the background, I'd guess it's about 2.5m to 3m tall and 3m to 4m across. The leaves look like they're about 40cm long by 20cm wide; is that about right? Does it have a single stem or multiple stems? Is the stem (or stems) woody or herbaceous? – Niall C. Nov 18 '15 at 15:26
  • The size you mentioned is about right. It's very tall and wide and the leaves are massive. I attached another photo of the stem and it is woody and multiple. Any ideas? – Ana Nov 18 '15 at 15:43
  • I wonder if this is a tree that has been cut down... – kevinskio Nov 20 '15 at 13:43
  • Ok. But what sort of tree do you reckon? – Ana Nov 20 '15 at 14:46
  • I'm pretty sure it's not *Paulownia* as the leaves are not right (they are cordate in *Paulownia*). Are those flowers I see in photo 2? Plants are mainly ID'd by floral characteristics. A closeup (you can even put them on a scanner if you don't have a macro lens), would really help. Also, the leaf bases, do I see stipules (leafy parts that cling to the base). Are the leaves alternate or opposite (it's really hard to tell). In between or both, and whorled is also possible in some plants. How cold does it get? These could really help. It looks vaguely familiar, but..... – Eric Deloak Nov 21 '15 at 15:18
  • I'm working on this one (well in my memory anyway). I think it may be in the Moraceae Family. It's just a guess. More info as I asked would help tremendously. – Eric Deloak Nov 23 '15 at 21:43
  • Hi Eric, Thank you for trying to solve this. The plant is not blooming at the moment.I this those things are just the leftovers of the flowers. I'm sorry I'm not very good with garden stuff. The coldest it gets here is about 8 degrees celsius. And it stays green all winter. I have attached two more photos, one of the leaves and one of the dried up cluster of ex-blooms. – Ana Nov 24 '15 at 08:27
  • You might want to look into this (https://goo.gl/NH6643) genus (Cotinus), although I am not completely sure. – usumdelphini Nov 24 '15 at 15:11
  • Are you absolutely certain it has purple flowers? Closest I've got so far is Ehretia dicksonii, but it has white flowers. And if that's flowers in bud in the penultimate pic, if they open, can you post a pic of those please? – Bamboo Nov 24 '15 at 16:38
  • One more thing - the branches I can see aren't twining, but is there any growth on it anywhere (maybe towards the top) that twines, the way a climbing plant might? – Bamboo Nov 24 '15 at 18:27

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It is Caracus wigandia or stinging tree: Wigandia caracasana or Wigandia urens - they have not decided which name is right yet (there are even more). It's introduced from Central America, but is commonly planted as an ornamental, and is fairly hardy, to zone 8 here in the US. Here is a link from Spain (Alicante) that shows it really well, in much the same situation as yours: http://www.apatita.com/herbario/Hydrophyllaceae/Wigandia_caracasana.html

Eric Deloak
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  • I got there by searching google for "tree blue flower big leaves" but didn't see it at first. Bamboo with Ehretia dicksonii is close as the family is the same (at least recently as the Hydrophylaceae is now part of Boraginaceae). – Eric Deloak Nov 25 '15 at 00:20
  • Great job! I have been google-ing the same thing for days but could't find it! Mystery solved thank you very much! – Ana Nov 25 '15 at 08:03