Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Flowering trees

I've been collecting pictures of flowering trees. They are everywhere. And they don't seem to have a season. Trees, like bushes and flowers, just bloom whenever their bit of soil gets enough rain. The field around the Guest Centre burst into white blooms last February when we had the first major rain after my arrival. The field did it again this February when we had a good deluge. 

But there is less regularity with most of the trees. Suddenly,  all over campus one kind of tree will be covered with flowers, but a few months later the same species (different specific trees) will be in bloom. This means we don't have the spectacle of a temperate zone spring, that 'finally winter is over' display. Instead we are treated to an ongoing display, but one that reflects very local rainfall.

As I collect the images I have tried to identify what each tree is. This has proved very difficult. So, while I would like to make these images educational, I'm afraid for the most part they are just colourful displays.

Here is my favourite tree.

Cassia fistula (Golden Shower tree)


 
 

The clusters of flowers (like hanging lanterns) can be about the size of my chest.

3 comments:

vandy said...

Gorgeous! Maybe Cassia? Look at this page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tgerus/galleries/72157624167214695/#photo_4209735087

vandy said...

Aha, or even more possible: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenbuchan/5908404350/

Carl + Anna-Marie said...

Well, your second option even says it is in the UofG botanical gardens. I knew I could count on you to hunt this down. I will update the entry and any subsequent tree posts as you update me.