crown of orchid tree
Orchid Tree
There was a good discussion, early this spring, in the comments for More flowering trees. Bloggers appreciate comments. They are part of what makes the blogging experience a pleasure. The discussion in this case revolved around some flowering trees here in St. Pete, trees that I found beautiful but had no clue as to their identity (horticulture is not in my skill set). There was disagreement among the readers’ suggestions regarding the identity of one tree in particular (the tree pictured above). One reader suggested it might be an eastern rosebud. Everything I could find online seemed to support her suggestion, so I agreed that was probably it. But, later, another reader said she felt, because of its hue and bark, it wasn’t an eastern rosebud, but was a jacaranda. So…I started digging around about jacarandas online and could see where she might be right—but the leaves where not the right shape for a jacaranda. So, now I was really puzzled.
I learned something from all this: I needed to better document the bark, flowers, and leaves with good close-up photos; a full shot of just the tree crown wasn’t enough information. I returned to the tree in question and did just that. One of those close-ups is immediately below; it shows the bark and leaves of the tree in question.
close-up of orchid tree leaves and bark
I sent those photos to the Pinellas County Extension Service. (I should have thought of them long ago, but didn’t.) They quite generously and immediately wrote back with the identity of the tree. It’s an orchid tree (Bauhinia variegata)! So thank you everyone for all your comments and suggestions and a special thank you to the Extension–what a valuable resource they are.
Jacaranda
If you compare the leaves and flowers of the jacaranda tree pictured immediately below with the leaves of the orchid tree pictured immediately above, you can see that they’re quite dissimilar. But, the jacaranda tree was a good guess and they’re absolutely everywhere right now in St. Pete. Not only are they a gorgeous flowering tree, they stay in bloom for quite a long time.
close-up of jacaranda tree flowers and leaves
The Florida Data page for the Jacaranda acutifolia has some very detailed information on jacaranda trees. Florida Data has become my “go to” page for Florida horticulture information. Pictured below are three jacaranda trees in one St. Pete home’s beautiful yard. What a visual treat those three trees are.
three jacaranda trees
Royal Poinciana
I think the tree in another St. Pete yard, pictured below, is a royal poinciana (Delonix regia), also called the flamboyant tree, flame tree, and peacock flower. It’s staggering when you see one. There’s an intensity to the red that I’m not able to capture with a snapshot. I suppose it could be a jacaranda tree with brilliant red flowers because the leaves are identical to my eye. But, I couldn’t find any reference to jacarandas being anything other than purple. I’m pretty sure it’s a royal poinciana. As I understand it, and from my own personal experience, they’re much more common down in Key West than here in St. Pete. I believe they can’t tolerate well even the light frost we get here.
royal poinciana (I think)
Tamarind
Another tree with leaves identical, to my eye, to the jacaranda and the royal poinciana, is the one in the photos below. I don’t think it’s either a jacaranda or royal poinciana, though, because of its size (it’s much larger), the shape of its crown (it’s very evenly rounded and full), and its pods (to my knowledge neither the jacaranda or the royal poinciana have pods). (Click on any of the photos for a larger image.) I’m not certain if this tree flowers–I don’t think it does, but I’ll keep an eye on it to see. My best guess is that it’s a tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica). The picture in Florida Data doesn’t look like the tree pictured here, but the description fits, perfectly. The tree pictured here is located in the parking lot of the City of St. Petersburg Sunshine Center next door to the St. Petersburg Shuffle Board Club (also see The St. Pete Shuffle and St. Pete Shuffle India Night).
leaves & pods of St. Pete tamarind (?) tree
As always, comments are encouraged and appreciated. If you think I’m right about the royal poinciana and tamarind trees, let me know; if you think I’m wrong, then it’s even more important you let me know. Eventually, after some time has passed so I don’t wear out my welcome with the kind folks at the county extension, I’ll ask them what they think.
Here’s a few websites about Florida trees, particularly flowering trees, that I’ve selected from the zillions on Google.
- Florida Data Tree list
- Florida Flowering & Blooming Trees
- University of Florida IFAS Extension — Florida Trees
- Flowering Trees of Florida by Mark K. Stebbins (Google book preview–142 pages)
- Florida Plants
crown of St. Pete tamarind (?) tree
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{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
We recently moved to St Petersburg and have been loving the purple trees, but had no idea what they were called. Thanks for the information!
Welcome to St. Pete. It’s a wonderful town. Thanks for the comment.
You’re perfectly right about the jacaranda, the bauhinia (orchid tree), and the poinciana. I’m not sure about the tamarind. Although I’ve seen the first two in protected areas in south Tampa, I’ve never seen a poinciana there. In fact, coastal south Pinellas is where such tropical trees begin to be seen with any regularity, along with coconut palms, royal palms, banyans, and rubber trees. The old guide books used to refer to our area as the gateway to the tropics, and they were right.
hey,
love the blooming trees here in SW FL. The Jacaranda and the poinciana do have seed pods.
Thanks for the comment and for the tip on jacaranda and poinciana pods. I’m very glad to know about your blog. I may have more questions. I admire the plants, but I don’t know much about them.
Hi. Yup, you got a royal poinciana tree there, the magnificent red ones. They grow like an umbrella shape and most people don’t know that they need to sleep, so if you have a light nearby either turn it off or cover it, so the tree can get its beauty sleep. They drop big long brown seed pods that dry with time and open up to release the seeds, so look under any tree for the pods right around now if you want to try to start another tree from seed. The pods are fun to play with, too, if you have kids around, as they make a neat sound when you shake them. We used to use them for “sword fights” when I was a kid.
The purple is jacaranda, and they have an amazing fragrance during certain times when they are in bloom. I know less about them, except that they attract the macaws and parrots from Parrot Jungle when they have the seeds on them. They don’t grow in an umbrella shape, but rather more upright and vertical in shape.
The one with the almost heart-shaped leaves is an orchid tree, and wait until you see them bloom, they are spectacular. I have never known them to have fragrance, though.
The tamarind tree has a very interesting feature to it, when you stand under it you almost feel like you are in air conditioning, it absorbs so much heat from the air. They have pods up to about as long as your hand, and the fruit inside the pod is used in cooking in the caribbean and asia, and probably other places as well. I couldn’t make anything palatable out of them on the first try, but I didn’t know what I was doing, either.
I am glad you are enjoying all the beautiful trees and plants in your area. I think most people really do forget to “stop and smell the roses”, or at least enjoy the beauty that is all around us here in Florida. And it’s free!
Hi, Hilton. I’ve enjoyed your blog, and was amused that all three trees are abundant here in San Diego as well. Jacaranda (pronounced Jack-a-rhonda by most here, instead of the Spanish Ha-ka-ran-da) blooms are all over the sidewalks right now. I’m looking forward to a visit to St. Pete at the end of August. I’m considering a move. It’s nice to have your blog as a guide. Thanks!
Thanks for reading and for the comment, Richard. I’ve lived in San Diego, too. I love it there. It would be difficult to choose between the two places. I attended a couple years of college on Point Loma and awakened in my dorm room to the sound of the morning surf. That, and hanging out in Ocean Beach and Mission Beach…very good times, good memories. Worked there as an adult a couple times, too. You’ve got a tough choice!
Why doesn’t my Royal Poinciana tree bloom?
I don’t know. But, if you call your local county agricultural extension, they will tell you. I’m very impressed with that invaluable service. Best of luck!
I just moved to Sarasota from Michigan and today traveled around checking out trees and plants. So many beauties to choose from. I have fallen in love with the Royal Poinciana! I didn’t see one at the nursery but saw a couple at this guy’s house that was selling plants. His street was full of them and some were quite large! He gave me a pod with seeds but I may be too anxious to grow one- so I will be looking for a nursery for a Royal Poinciana and a Jacaranda!
Meagan
Welcome to SRQ. I live here also. If you open the pod you’ll find quite a few seeds. Let them dry a bit. You can scuff them a little and throw one or two in some dirt and see what happens. Be brave my friend! Sometimes the best way to learn is to experiment. Yes, even loose a few in the process.
Hilton
I checked out your sisters site. If she is ever back in FL take her to Bok Tower. Great gardens.
Talk about ANGELS!!!! My grandmother absolutely adored the Royal Poincianas and Jacaranda trees. (I truly believe she had a hand in getting me to your website!) Unfortunaltely I lost her many years ago to the heavenly gardens the good Lord needed her for
She also raised orchids as I do now with loving memories of her and my childhood! I grew up in Miami, Fl, but now reside in noeastern No Carolina. I miss so many of the plants and trees from my home state, but after reading some of the blogs, I am sorely tempted to try growing a Poinciana here in Carolina. We have Mimosa trees here which are close, but do not have the impact in blooms that the Poinciana tree has. Wish I could win the lottery and move back to Fla. Do you think theres a chance of success? We have very warm and humid summers sometimes reaching 100 degrees, and winters with little snow (usually)… once in a while getting into the teens. I believe we are in Zone 8a/ 8b borderline. 1 hr from the ocean- east coast.
5 miles from the Virginia state line. Any input would be appreciated! I don’t want to kill a sapling intentionally!
My first encounter with Jacaranda trees was in Sarasota 17 years ago while visiting in May. The trees were in full bloom and what a spectacular sight! I took some pods home and planted them. I live in the northeast and didn’t know if they would grow in my zone. These were very easy to grow and FAST growing. I raised them indoors for 3 years and decided to transplant them outdoors. Unfortunately, we had a brutal winter with many freeze thaws and the trees didn’t make it. It took me a long time to track down this tree and it does grow in zone 3/4. These trees have become very popular in Nursery Catalogs as cheap as $5.95 for a tree about 1-3 ft.
I dug up two tiny 8 inch trees in an alleyway that I thought were royal poincianas. I planted them last year and they’re already nearly six feet tall. Now I’m beginning to doubt that they’re poincianas — the individual leaves look exactly the same, in that feathery configuration, but they’re larger than the poinciana leaves on my neighborhood trees. When it gets dry they sort of fold up, apparently to conserve water. Could they be jacaranda or tamarind? Do these trees have noticeably larger leaves in the same configuration as the poinciana? thanks for any help — I live in south fla.
The people who will know are your county extension service. In Google, enter the following: X county extension service. Instead of X write the name of your county. If I enter “pinellas county extension service” in google, my extension service is the very first listing that comes up–http://pinellas.ifas.ufl.edu/. Just give them a call or send them an email. The service is free (your tax dollars pay for it). They’re happy to help. Good luck!!!!!
Hello! I love this beautiful tree and I have been trying to find some sort of local “jacaranda finder” website (with no luck) and you seem to know where I might be able to find a jacaranda tree that would be a proper location for a wedding! Do you know of any particular churches or gardens or anything along those lines where a wedding could be held that features a beautiful jacaranda tree? Your help would be much appreciated if you know of any sights off the top of your head
Thank you!
one more thing… I meant in the St Pete/Tampa/Clearwater area
Thanks again!
No, I don’t know of a good tree for that purpose, locally, BUT…I suggest you take a look at this page from the St. Petersburg-Clearwater Convention and Visitors Bureau: http://www.floridasbeach.com/listings.php?type=wedding. They list 3 pages of outdoor wedding venues in Tampa Bay.
Why thank you very much! I checked it out and there were definitely some very unique places I had never heard of that looked great!
My girlfriend and I are growing Royal Poinciana’s from seed. We started 2 weeks ago. We both had one birth each from the many seeds we planted in pots. I did not prepare the seeds in anyway. They are amazing growers. In one week it has grown 6 inches! and six inches wide. It has been alot of fun. I want to plant a Royal Poinciana in my front yard here in Sarasota. As I look around the neighborhood (Lake Sarasota) I have spyed several Royals. I went to a nursery and purchased a dwarf poinciana. these grow to 10 foot by 10 foot and they are very pretty. Good news! A second Royal popped his head up from the pot. If anyone knows where to purchase nice Royals, please comment. I have found Blue Sky nursery on Fruitville Rd that have some 12 foot trees for $125 plus $50 delivery and planting. but I would like to compare with other nurseries.
It is not tamarind tree. The leaves and fruits look very different. It may be silk tree/