Al, who has a flair for naming things and a loose grasp of horticulture, came home from grad school one spring day and told me "there are the most amazing trees in the middle of town, and they've all exploded in the last day, like, like… like giant ploofy flashbulbs".
And so the crab apple trees that line the main street of Amherst (which is not, in fact, Main Street for historical reasons) have been ploofy flashbulb trees ever since. He is also the one who described Highland cattle as hairy volkswagens with horns.
Like I said, a flair for naming.
Lee Thomson 