Sometimes you see something that is so stunning, you’re actually able to overcome the inertia of living, go home, get the big camera (well…big for me; it’s just a lower end Nikon DSLR, but it’s bigger than my old Canon point-and-shoot which I still love and use a lot), go back out in the heat, drive back to the location, get out in the heat, brave the bugs (I’m a real sissy when it comes to flying, stinging bugs), and take some pictures.

It’s worth it though. I just love this tree. I’ve never seen it quite so glorious as it was today. I’ve blogged about it before here. At the end of that post, you can see the same tree when it’s not flowering.

Searching for that earlier post, I realized that I’ve actually got ten (10…!!!) posts on trees. I guess I really am a tree-hugger.

Here’s the list of those posts in case you’re in a tree-hugging mood yourself.

• It’s not all palm trees
• The kapok tree
• Spring
• More flowering trees
• Orchid, tree, jacaranda, royal poinciana, and tamarind
• Crepe-myrtle
• Yellow & orange fall foliage
• Red fall foliage
• Mount Dora Moss
• Monument

While I was out, today, I snapped this crepe-myrtle, too. These are everywhere down here right now. So easy to not notice how Pandora gorgeous is the place where we live. I remember one of my grand-nephews, who’d spent his entire life in the brown hills of northern California, helping me drive cross country a few years back. We took the southern route (my favorite) along the Gulf states. He’d never seen anything so green and lush in his life. Sometimes we’re lucky enough to see what’s around us through someone else’s eyes.

If you click on a picture, you go to a larger version. And, depending on the size of your monitor, if you click on that larger picture, you may go to an ever larger version!

Crape Myrtles…few things speak “southern living” more than crape myrtles to my eye. Well…gardenias and magnolias, do, of course! But, we’ll get to them in a later post. Right now, the streets of St. Pete are a riot of magenta, pink, and white with these trees almost everywhere. Because the shape of a crape myrtle is like a narrow ice cream cone, point down, it works well along streets, bordering properties, centered down the medians of boulevards, and outlining driveways (I had that at a home, once…very stately, driving in).

Visit Florida Data’s Lagerstroemia indica (crape myrtle) site. As it always does, it provides detailed, authoritative information about this tree and its many varieties such as the “dwarf crape myrtle.” There is a bit of confusion: is it “crape myrtle” or “crepe myrtle”? I appreciate that the author of this academic site is capable of humor (academia and humor don’t usually appear in the same context). The author, Steve Christman, says”

“The common name of this plant is crape myrtle not crepe myrtle. It is called this because the flowers have crinkly petals that resemble the material called crepe (which according to Webster is a “light crinkled fabric woven of any of various fibers”) but many references tell us that you’re supposed to spell it crape when it’s in front of myrtle. Confused? I think somebody was full of crape when they came up with this name! At any rate, it’s a common name and since there’s no authority that manages common names for plants you can spell (or call it) whatever you like!”

Like many other trees found in Florida, such as the banyan tree and kapok tree (see It’s not all palm trees and The Kapok Tree), the crape myrtle is originally from Asia. However, it doesn’t seem to be listed as an invasive species. Indeed some USA plants, such as the bottle gourd, have their roots in Asia 10,000 years ago. I would think, by now, that 10,000 years qualifies as “grandfathered in.”

You can easily identify crape myrtle amidst the profusion of other purple and pink flowering trees around town (see Orchid Tree, Jacaranda, Royal Poinciana, and Tamarind, More flowering trees, and Spring!). Look for their trucks of multiple, spindly branches. It almost looks like a large bush, but Florida Data refers to it as a tree. Look at this Yahoo! Answers page for comments by some biology professors in response to the question: “What is the difference between a bush and a tree?” It’s clear there’s no definitive answer.

Speaking of answers to questions: in an earlier post on Orchid Tree, Jacaranda, Royal Poinciana, and Tamarind, I showed a picture of a tree that I wondered aloud might not be a tamarind tree. I didn’t want to become a pest with the local Pinellas County Extension Service whose Mr. Andy Wilson kindly cleared up the identification of the orchid tree. But, I finally wrote him about what I thought might have been a tamarind tree. It’s not! It is currently covered with yellow pod-like structures. See the pictures immediately above (full tree) and below (close-up). According to Mr. Wilson it is a yellow poinciana, Peltophorum pterocarpum. I’m glad that mystery is solved. This spectacular tree is located at the end of the parking lot of the St. Petersburg Sunshine Center by Mirror Lake. On the end opposite of that parking lot is the massive banyan tree covered in It’s not all palm trees. If you’re in town, it’s worth an excursion to go see these two trees. For sure, look around at all the crape myrtles. They’re everywhere you look and in bloom.

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