Last time, we started listing some trees you may come across in Russia. Let us expand that list with five more trees.

Ель — Spruce

Image from Pixabay

We have seen ель (spruce) before as ёлка (“Christmas” tree put up for New Year’s in Russia). This can also be used as a catch-all name for any needled tree if you’re not sure of the species.

• На Но́вый Год мы поста́вили иску́сственную ёлку (We put up an artificial tree for New Year’s).

Кипарис — Cypress

Кипарис evokes images of the Mediterranean, although it can be found on the southern regions of Russia, too. A slender person may be compared to кипарис.

• Хозя́йка была́ стро́йная, высо́кая и лёгкая ― тень кипари́са. (The landlady was slender, task, and light like the shadow of a cypress.) [Сергей Довлатов. Иная жизнь (1984)]

Вяз — Elm

The word вяз is related to вязать (to tie together; to knit). Thanks to the 80s horror film Nightmare on Elm Street, my first association is with this word is “Кошмар на улице вязов” (the Russian name of the movie).

• Похо́же, э́тим фи́льмом а́втор «Кошма́ра на у́лице Вя́зов» попыта́лся войти́ в круг кино́шного истеблишмента. (It looks like the maker of Nightmare on Elm Street tried to break into filmmaking establishment with this movie.) [Ужас в порошках и таблетках. Видеосеанс с Валерием Кичиным (2001) // «Известия», 2001.10.19]

Липа — Linden

Image from Pixabay

Липа (linden) is a tree whose blossoms may be used in an herbal tea. Those blossoms are called липовый цвет. Interestingly, any fake documents, statements, or records are also colloquially called липа.

• Исто́рия с завеща́нием оказа́лась ли́пой ― никако́го се́йфа ни в како́м ба́нке не нашли́. (The story of the will turned out to be fake — no safe in a bank was ever found.) [И. Э. Кио. Иллюзии без иллюзий (1995-1999)]

Ясень — Ash

You may remember this tree from a song we featured on this blog. The word ясень seems to be related to ясный, clear.

• Ма́ло кто представля́ет себе́, как, к приме́ру, вы́глядят цветки́ клёна и́ли я́сеня. (Few people know what maple or ash flowers look like.) [Ирина Бондорина. «Остров Крым» (2002) // «Сад своими руками», 2002.11.15]

What else would you add?