The brittleness of the wood also leaves jacaranda vulnerable to damage during strong winds, but usually only smaller branches and twigs are affected. ![]() While the twigs and branches of the jacaranda break easily with an almost explosive crack, large pieces of wood can be used for wood turning, especially for bowls and handles. When dry, you can decorate jacaranda pods and turn them into Christmas ornaments. And as Christmas approaches, some people gather the pods, decorate them and use them as ornaments. This can be a bit disconcerting at first, but in mild wind it makes a soothing sound – a bit like a natural wind chime. These pods become almost woody and can rattle in the wind. Jacarandas also have both soft and brittle wood and large, pod-like fruits which turn brown as they dry out. ![]() ![]() And that's not even the most interesting thing about them The Bignoniaceae family contains woody species alongside jacaranda, but many other members are “lianes”, the climbers you might associate with Tarzan swinging through the jungle. The species belongs to the family Bignoniaceae, and its members are largely distributed in tropical regions. Jacaranda mimosifolia is known to attract some birds and insects such as the African honey bee and local and native honey-eaters. This is because the land it once and still occupies in South America is being rapidly converted for agricultural use. ShutterstockĪnd yet, jacaranda is classified as threatened or vulnerable in its natural habitat. Looking down upon Santa Barbara this time of year from the hills, the purple jacarandas brighten the lush Santa Barbara greenery.īut before you grow this well loved tree remember that some say the nicest jacaranda is on your neighbor's property, where you can enjoy it without having to keep a rake handy.Jacarandas grow across Pretoria and Johannesburg, and have been declared an invasive weed. Carrillo Street is lined with them, most especially between Garden and Laguna streets, and they fill the Five Points Plaza parking lot on Upper State. Jacarandas in Santa Barbara are abundant. The flowers are followed by distinctive flat, two-inch seed pods reminiscent of castanets. When the flowers fall, they retain their purple color, producing a vivid purple carpet. In fact, Pretoria, a city in South Africa, has such an abundance that it has been affectionately named The Jacaranda City. The Jacaranda does exceptionally well in our dry coastal climate and can be found growing prolifically in Australia, the Mediterranean and Africa. Native to Central and South America, the Jacaranda mimosifolia - the proper name for Santa Barbara's Jacaranda - was popularized here in California by the horticulturist Kate Sessions, who imported seeds from around the world to populate the then barren Balboa Park in San Diego. Purple jacaranda trees are unusual in that they drop their leaves in the spring before they flower and then re-leaf during the summer, making their lively lilac bloom uninterrupted by green leaves. ![]() The purple bell-shaped blossoms transform the city with eruptions of vibrant lavender color, reminding us that June is just around the corner. As the I Madonnari festival nears and the city fills to the brim this Memorial Day weekend, Santa Barbara's glorious jacarandas are bursting into bloom.
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