Jacaranda

Jacaranda is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas<ref name="Gentry1992">Template:Cite journal</ref> while cultivated around the world. The generic name is also used as the common name.

The species Jacaranda mimosifolia<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> has achieved a cosmopolitan distribution due to introductions, to the extent that it has entered popular culture. It can be found growing wild in Central America, the Caribbean, Spain, Portugal, southern and northern Africa, China, Australia, Rwanda and Cyprus.

Etymology

The name is of South American (more specifically Tupi-Guarani) origin either meaning fragrant,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> y-acã-ratã meaning "heartwood"<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> or ya'kãg rã'ta "hard-headed".<ref>Template:Cite website</ref> The word jacaranda was described in A supplement to Mr. Chambers's Cyclopædia, 1st ed., (1753) as "a name given by some authors to the tree the wood of which is the log-wood, used in dyeing and medicine" and as being of Tupi-Guarani origin,<ref>Oxford English Dictionary 2nd Ed. (1989)</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> by way of Portuguese.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although not consistent with the Guarani source, one common pronunciation of the name in English is given by Template:IPAc-en.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Description

The species are shrubs to large trees ranging in size from Template:Convert tall. The leaves are bipinnate in most species, pinnate or simple in a few species. The flowers are produced in conspicuous large panicles, each flower with a five-lobed blue to purple-blue corolla; a few species have white flowers. The fruit is an oblong to oval flattened capsule containing numerous slender seeds. The genus differs from other genera in the Bignoniaceae in having a staminode that is longer than the stamens, tricolpate pollen, and a chromosome number of 18.

Taxonomy

The genus is divided into two sections, sect. Monolobos and sect. Dilobos DC., based on the number of thecae on the anthers. Sect. Monolobos has 18 species and is found primarily in western South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Sect. Dilobos, which is believed to be the primitive form, has 31 species and is found primarily in southeastern Brazil including the Paraná River valley. The anatomy of the wood in the two sections also differs. Although usually treated in sect. Monolobos, J. copaia differs somewhat from all other members of the genus and may be intermediate between the two sections (Dos Santos & Miller 1997).

Species

Sect. Monolobos Template:Div col

• Jacaranda acutifolia Bonpl.
• Jacaranda arborea Urb.
• Jacaranda brasiliana (Lam.) Pers.
• Jacaranda caerulea (L.) J.St.-Hil.
• Jacaranda caucana Pittier
• Jacaranda copaia (Aubl.) D.Don
• Jacaranda cowellii Britton & P.Wilson
• Jacaranda cuspidifolia Mart. ex DC.
• Jacaranda decurrens Cham.
• Jacaranda ekmanii Alain
• Jacaranda hesperia Dugand.
• Jacaranda mimosifolia D.Don
• Jacaranda obtusifolia Humboldt & Bonpl.
• Jacaranda orinocensis Sandw.
• Jacaranda poitaei Urb.
• Jacaranda praetermissa Sandw.
• Jacaranda selleana Urb.
• Jacaranda sparrei A.H.Gentry

Template:Div col end Sect. Dilobos Template:Div col

• Jacaranda bracteata Bur. & K.Schum.
• Jacaranda bullata A.H.Gentry
• Jacaranda campinae A.Gentry & Morawetz
• Jacaranda carajasensis A.Gentry
• Jacaranda caroba (Vell.) DC.
• Jacaranda crassifolia Morawetz
• Jacaranda duckei Vattimo
• Jacaranda egleri Sandwith
• Jacaranda glabra (DC.) Bur. & K.Schum.
• Jacaranda grandifoliolata A.H.Gentry
• Jacaranda heterophylla M.M.Silva-Castro<ref name="Silva-Castro2017">Template:Cite journal</ref>
• 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 Manso
• Jacaranda rugosa A.H.Gentry
• Jacaranda simplicifolia K.Schum.
• Jacaranda subalpina Morawetz
• Jacaranda ulei Bur. & K.Schum.

Cultivation

File:Jacaranda seedling.png

Jacaranda seedling

Jacaranda can be propagated from grafting, cuttings, and seeds, though plants grown from seeds take a long time to bloom. Jacaranda grows in well-drained soil and tolerates drought and brief spells of frost and freeze.<ref name="jacaranda">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

This genus thrives in full sun and sandy soils, which explains their abundance in warmer climates. Mature plants can survive in colder climates down to Template:Convert; however, they may not bloom as profusely. Younger plants are more fragile and may not survive in colder climates when temperatures drop below freezing.

Uses

Several species are widely grown as ornamental plants throughout the subtropical regions of the world, valued for their intense flower displays. The most often seen is the blue jacaranda (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 because of its exceptionally long bole.

Gallery

• Jacaranda ulei flower.jpg

  Flowers of Jacaranda ulei

• Jacaranda seeds.jpg

  Jacaranda seeds

• Jacaranda255.jpg

  Jacaranda mimosifolia trees in full bloom in Islamabad, Pakistan

• JacarandaTreeIndia.jpg

  Jacaranda tree blooming in India

• Avenida Figueroa Alcorta - floración de jacarandá.jpg

  Jacaranda trees in bloom in Buenos Aires, Argentina

External links

• Template:Commons category inline
• Template:Wikispecies inline
• 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" (PDF file). IAWA Journal 18: 369–383. Template:Webarchive.
• Goodna Jacaranda Festival at Evan Marginson Park, Goodna
• Agroforestry Tree Database
• Jacaranda Festival, Grafton; Template:Webarchive