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June 18, 2005 Another tropical tree that I’ve been acquainted with for about 3 years is the jacaranda. Americans usually pronounce this ‘jacaránda’, but the original pronunciation is ´jacarandá’, with the accent on the last syllable. This word comes from Brazil, from the Tupí Indian language, spoken in the Amazon Basin at one time. Adopted into Portuguese, the word has now become Anglicized as well. I’ve noticed a number of jacaranda trees here in Paraguay, and I may have seen some in Argentina too, though I wasn’t really paying much attention to trees at the time. I first became acquainted with jacaranda trees in 2003, when I was living in Los Angeles. They are planted there in dozens along both sides of Hollywood Boulevard, alternating with Ficus trees, and in many other locations around town. However, they will not grow in latitudes much more northerly than Los Angeles. Even San Francisco may be too cold for them. So just forget about places like New Jersey and Massachussets. According to Wikipedia, they are completely naturalized in the US only in Hawaii and Florida. Unfortunately, at the time of my residence in those two states (1986-87 and 1992-93), I had not yet discovered jacarandas. Jacarandas have bipinnate leaves, a feature which is typical of trees in the order Fabales, like acacia, mimosa and locust. So assuming that jacarandas were also in that order, I spent hours online at the Los Angeles Public Library, where there are a few planted on the grounds, trying to identify them. But they turned out to be in Bignoniaceae, a family in the former order Scrophulariales, which includes ash, olive, lilac, catalpa, African violet, privet, sesame and foxglove also. At length, I identified them as Jacaranda mimosifolia, also called Jacaranda acutifolia, I was gratified that, at least, the specific name ‘mimosifolia’ was an acknowledgment that the leaves do look like mimosa leaves. Here are Jacaranda leaves: http://treesource.angelnco.com/images/trees/jacarandamimosifolia1.jpg It’s just maddening how the taxonomy of plants keeps changing. Just three years ago, Scrophulariales were one of 64 orders comprised by the class Magnoliopsida. Now the families of Scrophulariales have been subsumed as families of the order Lamiales (mints). So Bignoniaceae are now part of Lamiales. Thankfully, Lamiales include a wide variety of plants that it is a pleasure to mention: basil, bluebell, catnip, hyssop, lavender, marjoram (oregano), pennyroyal, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory, spearmint, teak and thyme. So jacarandas have very delightful new relatives, in any case. The tree is 20 to 40 feet tall and blooms with a whole host of lavender flowers. Here is a picture of a blossoming jacaranda: http://houseofblues.typepad.com/pammys_house_of_blues/images/Jacaranda.jpg This tree’s homeland is the Amazon Basin, but it has spread to other parts of Latin America, the US, Africa and Australia. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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