Jacaranda mimosifolia (Jacaranda tree)

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Eudicotyledons > Core Eudicots > Asterids > Euasterid I > Order: Lamiales > Family: Bignoniaceae

Jacaranda in flower along street in Cape Town. [photo H. Robertson, Iziko ©]

Jacaranda mimosifolia is a tree native to Bolivia and Argentina in South America that is grown as a garden and street tree because of its colourful blue flowers. In South Africa it is conspicuous in many towns and cities but is best known from Pretoria where there are many avenues of Jacaranda trees. However, it has become naturalised in woodland regions of South Africa and is a Category 3 declared invader plant in South Africa meaning that you are not permitted to grow this plant but plants growing at the time this legislation appeard (March 2001) are allowed to exist, provided that they are not within 30 m of the 50 year flood line of a river, lake or other sort of inland water body. This declared status excludes sterile cultivar 'Alba'.

Text by Hamish Robertson