Is this a birch tree? I most assuredly do not know my trees, but today as I was riding downtown after a long work day, I was scoping out the trees. We don’t get fall colors here in New Orleans, because we don’t really have fall like that, and we certainly don’t have a lot of deciduous trees. I saw one tree that looked golden from afar, but when I got closer it turned out the golden was from the sun hitting it just right. That’s beautiful, of course, but sometimes I feel a little wistful for autumn–harvest time, maple sugar candy (you can get that anytime, and sugaring season’s March through April, but it reminds me of fall just the same), corn mazes, apple cider donuts-the whole bag. But this tree has just a hint of fall on it, some reddish leaves on branches, some on the ground, having already fallen. Of course, it was 88 degrees here today, and humid as summertime. Most days, I’ll take that over all the colors in the world.
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 
Looks like a sycamore.
There may be some river birch trees in your area, but birch mainly grow up north.
That tree, my dear, is a Sycamore, complete with “chinaballs.”
Oh, I should have mentioned….. One of the most spectacular fall trees you will find here and there is the Ginkgo. Tulane has a huge one (which incidentally has its own lightning rod) in front of the Architecture building (not far from the metasequoia. The leaves will turn a spectacular bright yellow when it gets colder. It won’t last long, though. The one in front of Architecture is the male tree. There is another smaller one (damaged many years ago) on the circle in front of Gibson Hall. That one is female. The seeds on the female tree have a very nasty smelling fleshy covering, and rumor has it that the females are illegal in some cities as a result. They represent one of the most ancient forms of trees still in existance. The plant biology people inhabited Dinwidde Hall for decades, which may explain the Ginkgo, Metasequoia, and giant bamboo planted around there.
Randy, you are awesome. Thanks for the lessons. I have a quick guide to Louisiana birds–I need one for our flora. I’m going to stalk our gingko trees tomorrow.