Sunday, 10 November 2013

Jacaranda Time

November is Jacaranda Time to many Australians. For many of them the flowering of the Jacarandas is also inextricably linked with Exam Time. (November is spring time and the Australian academic year mirrors the calendar year.)

Jacaranda.

Jacaranda Jacaranda mimosifolia is a South American species that is much loved as a street and garden tree in Australia. Its flask shaped lavender flowers appear before the leaves, so they resemble the Paulownias of Chinese origin seen in France in May.

Silky Oak.

To add to the display, they flower at the same time as Silky Oak Grevillea robusta. This native tree has orangey-yellow flowers, the perfect colour complement to the jacarandas. The tree is so called because it has lovely honey coloured wood, with a grain reminiscent of Oak Quercus robur. We have several pieces of furniture made from Silky Oak.

Poinciana.

Where the climate allows these two favourites are joined by another less common red flowered beauty, Poinciana Delonix regia, which is from Madagascar, or maybe one of my favourites, a lovely Australian native, one of the Brachychiton spp (Kurrajong or Illawarra Flame Tree).

 Brachychiton sp.

11 comments:

Leon Sims said...

We are still waiting for our jacaranda to spread its purple, but then we are much further south than your old digs,

Susan said...

Leon: Indeed. 1500 km at least I think. My mother says the one in their garden has been flowering for a week or so.

the fly in the web said...

Jacarandas line the road on the entrance to San Jose...flame trees in the park....

We had paulownias in France...they grew like weeds!

I'd like to try more Australian species here, but the nurseries are very limited in their stock.

The Beaver said...

Susan

The Poinciana is called the Flamboyant tree in Mauritius. Must have been brought from Madagascar either by Pierre Poivre or some French governor.
As kids, we knew that Christmas holidays were not too far away when the flowers started coming out.

chm said...

Bonjour Cousine,

I think that's what it's called also in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

There are a lot of Jacaranda trees in Southern California.

Susan said...

Fly: that sounds a lot like how they are used in Australia.

Beaver: they certainly are flamboyant!

chm: I imagine both trees thrive in California.

Diane said...

South Africa and Zimbabwe are much the same, the streets are lined with jacarandas. One street in Pretoria has white and blue down the whole street. We had a white one in our garden. Maybe not quite as pretty but much more unusual. Diane

Susan said...

Diane: I don't think I've ever seen a white one. I didn't know they existed.

Aussie in France said...

I experienced jacarandas en masse for the first time two years ago when we spent a week on the Gold Coast in October. It was stunning. I've always loved poincianas which we have up north, unlike the jacaranda. I was surprised how many Australian flowering trees and shrubs there were in Egypt!

Diane said...

Seems they have white ones in Australia as well they they need to be ordered. See
http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/factsheets/Flowering-Plants-and-Shrubs/Jacarandas/3083

lejardindelucie said...

A l'île de la Réunion aussi on voit ces magnifiques jacarandas et flamboyants qui illuminent les rues, à l'approche des fêtes de fin d'année. C'est magnifique. J'ai été ravie de les revoir l'an passé à Sydney.

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