Jacaranda

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Jacaranda

Jacaranda (; Portuguese , ) is a genus

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
of 49 species of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s in the family Bignoniaceae

Bignoniaceae

The Bignoniaceae, or Trumpet Creeper Family, is a family of flowering plants comprising of about 650-750 species in 116-120 genus. Members of the family are mostly trees and shrubs, and more rarely lianas and herbaceous plants in 116-120 genus....
, native to tropical and subtropical regions of South

South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
and Central America

Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, and the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
. The genus name is also used as the common name. In many parts of the world, such as Mexico

Mexico

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east....
, the blooming of this tree is welcomed as a sign of spring.

The species are shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s to large tree

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s ranging in size from 2 to 30 m tall.

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Encyclopedia

Jacaranda (; Portuguese , ) is a genus

Genus

Flowering plant

Bignoniaceae

South America

Central America

Mexico

Caribbean

In many parts of the world, such as Mexico

Mexico

Zimbabwe

Shrub

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s ranging in size from 2 to 30 m tall. The leaves

Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
are bipinnate in most species, pinnate or simple in a few species. The flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are produced in conspicuous large panicle

Panicle

A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched Indeterminate growth inflorescence with Pedicel flowers attached along the secondary branches ....
s, each flower with a five-lobed blue to purple-blue corolla; a few species have white flowers. The fruit

Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
is an oblong to oval flattened capsule

Capsule (fruit)

In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a dehiscent structure composed of two or more carpels, that, at maturity, split apart to release the seeds within....
containing numerous slender seed

Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
s. The genus differs from other genera in the Bignoniaceae in having a staminode

Staminode

In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen. This means that it does not produce pollen. Staminodes are frequently inconspicuous and stamen-like, usually occurring at the inner whorl of the flower, but are also sometimes long enough to protrude from the corolla....
that is longer than the stamen

Stamen

The stamen is the male organ of a flower. Each stamen generally has a stalk called the filament , and, on top of the filament, an anther , and pollen sacs, called sporangium....
s, tricolpate pollen

Pollen

Pollen is a fine to coarse powder consisting of Gametophyte , which produce the male gametes of spermatophyta. A hard coat covering the pollen grain protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement between the stamens of the flower to the pistil of the next flower....
, and a chromosome

Chromosome

A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein that is found in Cell . A chromosome is a single piece of DNA that contains many genes, regulatory sequence and other genetic sequence....
number of 18.

The genus is divided into two sections, sect. Jacaranda (syn. sect. Monolobos, an invalid name as it includes the type species of the genus, J. caerulea) and sect. Dilobos DC., based on the number of theca

Theca

A theca refers to any case, covering, or sheath.In botany, the theca of an angiosperm is half of the anther. An anther and its filament form together a typical stamen, part of the male flower organ....
e on the anthers. Sect. Jacaranda (which includes Blue Jacarandas) has 18 species and is found primarily in western South America

South America

Central America

Mexico

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
. Sect. Dilobos, which is believed to be the primitive form, has 31 species and is found primarily in southeastern Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
including the Paraná River

Paraná River

This article is about the second-longest river in South America: For the shorter river in Goi?s, central Brazil, see Paran? RiverThe Paran? River is a river in south central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina over a course of some 2,570 kilometers ....
valley. The anatomy of the wood

Wood

Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs, etc....
in the two sections also differs. Although usually treated in sect. Jacaranda, J. copaia differs somewhat from all other members of the genus, and may be intermediate between the two sections (Dos Santos & Miller 1997).

Selected species

Sect. Jacaranda

Jacaranda acutifolia Bonpl.
Jacaranda arborea
Jacaranda arborea

Jacaranda arborea is a species of plant in the Bignoniaceae family. It is Endemism to Cuba. It is threatened by habitat loss....
Urb.
Jacaranda brasiliana (Lam.) Pers.
Jacaranda caerulea (L.) J.St.-Hil.
Jacaranda caucana Pittier
Jacaranda copaia (Aubl.) D.Don
Jacaranda cuspidifolia Mart. ex DC.
Jacaranda hesperia Dugand.
Jacaranda mimosifolia D.Don
Jacaranda obtusifolia Humboldt & Bonpl.
Jacaranda orinocensis Sandw.
Jacaranda poitaei Urb.
Jacaranda praetermissa Sandw.
Jacaranda sparrei A.H.Gentry

Sect. Dilobos

Jacaranda bracteata Bur. & K.Schum.
Jacaranda campinae A.Gentry & Morawetz
Jacaranda carajasensis A.Gentry
Jacaranda caroba
Jacaranda caroba

Jacaranda caroba is a medicinal plant native to Cerrado vegetation in Brazil....
(Vell.) DC.
Jacaranda crassifolia Morawetz
Jacaranda duckei Vattimo
Jacaranda glabra (DC.) Bur. & K.Schum.
Jacaranda intricata A.Gentry & Morawetz
Jacaranda irwinii A.Gentry
Jacaranda jasminoides (Thunb.) Sandw.
Jacaranda macrantha Cham.
Jacaranda macrocarpa Bur. & K.Schum.
Jacaranda micrantha Cham.
Jacaranda montana Morawetz
Jacaranda morii A.Gentry
Jacaranda mutabilis Hassl.
Jacaranda obovata Cham.
Jacaranda oxyphylla Cham.
Jacaranda paucifoliata Mart. ex DC.
Jacaranda puberula Cham.
Jacaranda racemosa Cham.
Jacaranda rufa
Jacaranda rufa

Jacaranda rufa is a medicinal plant native to Bolivia and Cerrado vegetation in Brazil. This plant is cited in Flora Brasiliensis by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius....
Manso
Jacaranda simplicifolia K.Schum.
Jacaranda subalpina Morawetz
Jacaranda ulei Bur. & K.Schum.

Cultivation and uses

Several species are widely grown as ornamental plant

Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, Plant stem and bark....
s throughout the subtropical regions of the world, valued for their intense flower displays. The most often seen is the Blue Jacaranda

Blue Jacaranda

The Blue Jacaranda, Jacaranda mimosifolia more often known simply as the "Jacaranda", is a sub-tropical tree native to South America that has been widely planted elsewhere because of its beautiful and long-lasting blue flowers....
Jacaranda mimosifolia (syn. J. acutifolia hort. non Bonpl.). Other members of the genus are also commercially important; for example the Copaia (Jacaranda copaia) is important for its timber

Timber

Timber may refer to:* Lumber, i.e. wood materials* Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Oregon* Timber , a 1984 arcade game by Bally Midway...
because of its exceptionally long bole.

Pretoria

Pretoria

Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three Capital , serving as the Executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislature capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital....
in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
is popularly known as The Jacaranda City due to the enormous number of Jacaranda trees planted as street trees and in parks and gardens. In flowering time the city appears blue/purple in colour when seen from the nearby hills because of all the Jacaranda trees. The time of year the Jacarandas bloom in Pretoria coincides with the year-end exams at the University of Pretoria

University of Pretoria

The University of Pretoria is a university in Pretoria, South Africa, with a total of about 57,409 students being enrolled in 2008. This makes it one of the country's largest residential universities....
and legend has it that if a flower from the Jacaranda tree drops on your head, you will pass all your exams. Other towns and cities in South Africa have Jacaranda trees, but none produce such a show as that of Pretoria.

The city of Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the state List of Australian capital cities of Queensland and its most populous city. It is also the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, behind southern rivals Sydney and Melbourne....
in Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
has a local reputation of having a significant population of Jacaranda trees. The University of Queensland

University of Queensland

The University of Queensland is one of Australia's premier learning and research institutions. The University is a founding member of the national Group of Eight, an alliance of research-strong, mostly "Sandstone universities" committed to ensuring that Australia has higher education institutions which are genuinely world class....
in the city's inner west has a very high concentration of the tree, and due to the impressive display of purple flowers in mid-Spring, which wind up littering vast sections of the suburbs, local folklore

Folklore

Folklore is the body of expressive culture, including tales, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, superstitions, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group ....
claims that "one won't start studying for exams until the jacarandas have molted". At Sydney University there exists a similar expression "by the time the jacaranda in the main quadrangle flowers, it's too late to start studying for exams".

This has led to the slang name "exam tree" being attached to the plant. At the University of Queensland

University of Queensland

The University of Queensland is one of Australia's premier learning and research institutions. The University is a founding member of the national Group of Eight, an alliance of research-strong, mostly "Sandstone universities" committed to ensuring that Australia has higher education institutions which are genuinely world class....
students even maintain a joke superstition that if a Jacaranda bloom falls on their head during exam time, they will fail an exam. The bad luck can be broken by catching another bloom before it hits the ground.

The reason for the Jacaranda's proliferation in Brisbane is often attributed to the thirties

1930s

In Western Europe, Australia and the United States, more progressive reforms occurred as opposed to the extreme measures sought elsewhere. Roosevelt's New Deal attempted to use government spending to combat large-scale unemployment and severely negative growth....
and forties

1940s

The 1940s decade, known as the forties, ran from 1940 to 1949....
, when new mothers leaving the maternity hospital were given a jacaranda sapling to plant.

Jacarandas in bloom have become closely associated with Brisbane and South East Queensland. The Brisbane City Council have used jacarandas to line avenues, and commercial developments in some areas, particularly along the Brisbane River

Brisbane River

The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay....
have incorporated jacarandas into their landscape design. The trees are common in parks throughout the city, most notably in a long curved avenue in the inner city New Farm Park

New Farm Park, Brisbane

New Farm Park is a significant historic park in the suburb of New Farm, Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, located at the southern end of the New Farm Peninsula on the Brisbane River....
, in Goodna

Goodna, Queensland

Goodna is a suburb on the eastern edge of the city of Ipswich, Queensland in Queensland, Australia.It is bounded to the north by the Brisbane River....
, and in private gardens. Brisbane's hilly geography allows views of the city and suburbs in which the brightly coloured flowers can be easily seen for miles. The jacaranda has become so much a part of the city's identity that contemporary art, particularly of streetscapes, often incorporates the flowering jacaranda, despite the fact that it only flowers for approximately six weeks from September through October.

The city of Grafton

Grafton, New South Wales

Grafton is the commercial hub of the Clarence River Valleywhich has a population approaching 20,000. Established in 1855, Grafton features many historic buildings and tree-lined streets....
on the north coast of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is Australia's oldest and most populous States and territories of Australia, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria and south of Queensland....
, Australia, is also famous for its Jacarandas. Every October the city has a Jacaranda festival during the period of full bloom. A street parade, local public holiday and a series of events are held. A local public holiday sees the city's businesses perform street theatre for passers by and street stalls proliferate. A Jacaranda Queen and Jacaranda Princess are named at a formal ball.

Jacarandas are also popular in south Florida

Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
and the southwestern United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, notably in Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital and largest city in the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the fifth most populous city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,552,259 residents, and is the anchor of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area with 4,179,427 residents....
and San Diego, California

San Diego, California

San Diego is the second largest city in California and the List of United States cities by population, located along the Pacific Ocean on the West Coast of the United States of the Western United States....
. Jacaranda can be found throughout most of southern California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, where they were imported by the horticulturalist Kate Sessions

Kate Sessions

Katherine Olivia "Kate" Sessions was an United States botanist, horticulturalist, and landscape architect closely associated with San Diego, California, and known as the "Mother of Balboa Park ."...
. In California, jacarandas are known as the trees that bloom twice a year, although the fall bloom is generally not as striking as the spring bloom. Tampa, St. Petersburg, and other southern Florida cities are ribboned by purple flowers during peak bloom of April. Jacaranda trees are principally found in parks and interspersed along the avenues and streets. Jacarandas were introduced to Israel over 50 years ago, where they are in full bloom during May. They are popular and can be found in cities all over Israel.

Bibliography External links

Dos Santos, G., & Miller, R. B. (1997). Wood anatomy of Jacaranda (Bignoniaceae): Systematic relationships in sections Monolobos and Dilobos as suggested by twig and stem rays. IAWA Journal 18: 369-383. Available (pdf file).