The flowers of Jacaranda
Soft violet flowers from the Americas to the world. Also a song and a musical instrument.
Jacaranda is a family of flowering trees native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. In the southern latitudes, it blooms in spring before it shoots leaves. My mother just sent me these gorgeous shots of Jacaranda trees (Jacaranda mimosifolia) in full bloom in parks and streets of her city. I would like to share these photos with you together with some interesting facts.
Jacarandas are widely used for decoration in the cities and parks of the Argentinian litoral:
They blend, I think, very nicely with other trees that are already green or are evergreens:
You saw in the lead and above photos some trees. Here details on the flowers:
“Distributed”
On reading about the plant in Wikipedia, I confirmed that it is native to the tropical and subtropical parts of the Americas, particularly its south; however, the article explains that the species has been exported (by humans) to lands as far as India, Australia, New Zealand, Arabia, several African countries, and the warmer parts of Europe, besides of course making it to the southern parts of the U.S. which anyway is not too remote from its original regions.
By the way, Wikipedia’s entry for Jacaranda is very informative and includes some great shots. Check it out:
A song to the falling Jacaranda flowers
When the flowers fall as the spring advances, they flood the streets with its pale violet colors. This is reflected in a song by María Elena Walsh, an Argentine musician and writer (among many hats) mainly producing songs and books for children.
Her song (in Spanish here) translated to English, goes by:
To the east and west It rains and it will rain A flower and another celestial flower Of the jacaranda. The old woman is in the cave But it will come out To see how beautiful it snows Of the jacaranda. The squirrels laugh, Ha-ha-ra-ha, Because the wind tickles the jacaranda. Heaven on the sidewalk Drawing is With foam and tissue paper Of the jacaranda. The wind as a sorcerer He came this way. With his tail he swept the drawing Of the jacaranda. If you pass by the school, The boys maybe They will put on a cockade Of the jacaranda.
A musical instrument out of Jacaranda fruits
In my Drumkit from around the world I have included a shaker made out of Jacaranda fruits hanging together in a single cluster:
I got the idea from Terry Bozzio’s (my favorite drummer ever) many shakers, and from this shaker made out of goat toenails that I bought in Argentina’s Northwest region:
Who would imagine there was so much to say about a flower? I hope you’ve enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed preparing it!
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