Jacaranda is a genus of 49 species of in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas
The species Jacaranda mimosifolia
Etymology
The name is of
South American (more specifically
Tupi-Guarani) origin either meaning fragrant,
meaning "heartwood"
or
ya'kãg rã'ta "hard-headed".
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
logwood, used in dyeing and medicine" and as being of Tupi–Guarani origin,
[ Oxford English Dictionary 2nd Ed. (1989)] by way of Portuguese.
Although not consistent with the Guarani source, one common pronunciation of the name in English is given by .
Description
The species are
to large
ranging in size from tall. The
leaf are
bipinnate in most species, pinnate or simple in a few species. The
are produced in conspicuous large
, 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
. The genus differs from other genera in the Bignoniaceae in having a
staminode that is longer than the
, 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
on the
. 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
-
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
Sect. Dilobos
-
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
-
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
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.
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 ; 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
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
Jacaranda copaia (
Jacaranda copaia) is important for its
timber because of its exceptionally long bole.
Gallery
File:Jacaranda ulei flower.jpg|Flowers of Jacaranda ulei
File:Jacaranda seeds.jpg|Jacaranda seeds
File:Jacaranda255.jpg| Jacaranda mimosifolia trees in full bloom in Islamabad, Pakistan
File:JacarandaTreeIndia.jpg|Jacaranda tree blooming in India
File:Avenida Figueroa Alcorta - floración de jacarandá.jpg|Jacaranda trees in bloom in Buenos Aires
External links
