Jacaranda
Jacaranda mimosifolia
Appearance
Deciduous tree.
Size: up to 15 m high and wide.
Leaves: bright green, feathery and fern-like. Individual leaves are narrow and elliptic, 3 – 12 mm long and arranged either side of a 5 – 10 cm long stem. They turn yellow in autumn before falling from the tree.
Flowers: blue-purple and trumpet-shaped, forming clusters that are 20 – 30 cm in diameter. Each individual flower is 2 – 3 cm long and about 1 cm wide. They are lightly fragranced and remain on the tree for about two months.
Fruit/seed: a red-brown seed pod that is round and flat, and 3 – 6 cm in diameter. It can remain on the tree for several months.
What to Observe
What to Observe
First fully open single flower
Full flowering (record all days)
End of flowering (when 95% of the flowers have faded)
Open seed pods (record all days)
First fully open leaf
Leaves open (record all days)
First leaf to change colour
Leaves changing colour (record all days)
First leaf to drop this year
50% or more of leaves dropped (record all days)
No leaves (record all days)
ClimateWatch Science Advisor
We expect plants to start shooting and flowering earlier in the year as a result of climate change warming the Earth. They may also start appearing in new areas, as warmer temperatures enable them to live in environments that were previously too cold for them.
First fully open flower
Full flowering
End of flowering (95% of flowers have faded)
Open seed pods
First fully open leaf
Leaves open
First leaf to change colour
Leaves changing colour
First leaf to drop
50% or more leaves dropped
No leaves
When and Where
When To Look
From spring through to autumn
Leaves appear in spring after the flowers
Flowers appear in spring (November in NSW and September/October in North Qld)
Seed pods appear after flowering
Leaves change colour in autumn before falling
Where To Look
Widely throughout Australia, except in frost-prone areas such as mountainous regions.
In urban areas – in gardens, parks and roadsides.
What Else (Distinguishing Features)
Did You Know?
There are four stamens inside the flower which produce pollen, and also a staminode which doesn’t produce any pollen.
References
References
Australian Biological Resources Study 1982. Flora of Australia Volume 33. CSIRO Publishing / Australian Biological Resources Study.
Harden G (ed.) Flora of New South Wales: Vol. 1 (revised edition, 2000), Vol. 2 (revised edition, 2002), Vol. 3 (1992), Vol. 4 (1993). University of NSW Press.
Menninger EA 1962. Flowering trees of the world. Hearthside Press, New York.