Through the months of October, November and December, the streets, gardens and parklands in just about every suburb in South Australia are awash with the magnificent blooms of the
Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia) trees.
Jacaranda tree (Jacaranda mimosifolia) (©paula mcmanus)
The trumpet shaped flowers appear in a sudden colourful burst and when it's time for them to fall, it's like a purple-blue snow that covers everything.
It is said that if you are walking underneath the Jacaranda tree and one of the trumpet blossoms falls on your head you will be favoured by fortune (source unknown, but I'm going to linger underneath under every Jacaranda that I see!).
Jacaranda tree (Jacaranda mimosifolia) (©paula mcmanus)
Many people think that the Jacarandas are an indigenous tree, but in fact they are native to Brazil and South America. The Brazilians pronounce the name "Hakharanda". Their popularity is such that they are now seen all around the world lining long avenues with their beauty. Some cities have annual Jacaranda festivals that attract visitors to the area.
Pretoria, north of Johannesburg in South Africa, is known as Jacaranda City due to it's 70,000 Jacaranda trees.
Grafton, in New South Wales hold a
Jacaranda Festival every November and for the locals, it's a public holiday!
Jacaranda tree (Jacaranda mimosifolia) (©paula mcmanus)
When the Jacarandas bloom it means a couple of things:
1. Winter is over and spring is really here.
2. Christmas is just around the corner!
To quote the wonderful Aussie poem "Christmas Where the Gum Trees Grow"
Christmas where the gum trees grow,
There is no frost and there is no snow,
Christmas in Australia's hot,
Cold and frosty is what it's not,
When the bloom of the Jacaranda tree is here,
Christmas time is near.
(Christmas Where The Gum Trees Grow by Val Donlan and Lesley Sabogal)
Jacaranda tree (Jacaranda mimosifolia) (©paula mcmanus)
So, go for a walk in and around our beautiful city and enjoy the sunshine and the stunning colour of the purple tree-lined streets and parks of Adelaide.
