Jacaranda

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names
Bignoniaceae >	Jacaranda >				Juss. >

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Jacaranda (pronounced [ʒa.ka.ˈran.da], [ha.ka.ˈran.da], or [ˌdʒæk.ə.ˈran.də]) is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of South and Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The genus name is also used as the common name.

Large tree in full bloom.

The species are shrubs to large trees ranging in size from 2-30 m tall. The leaves are bipinnate in most species, pinnate or simple in a few species. The flowers are produced in conspicuous large panicles, 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 seeds. The genus differs from other genera in the Bignoniaceae in having a staminode that is longer than the stamens, tricolpate pollen, and a chromosome number of 18.

The genus is divided into two sections, sect. Jacaranda (syn. sect. Monolobos, an invalid name as it includes the type species of the genus, J. caerulea) and sect. Dilobos DC., based on the number of thecae on the anthers. Sect. Jacaranda (which includes Blue Jacarandas) 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. Jacaranda, J. copaia differs somewhat from all other members of the genus, and may be intermediate between the two sections (Dos Santos & Miller 1997).

Jacaranda seedling

Several species are widely grown as ornamental plants 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 Copaia (Jacaranda copaia) is important for its timber because of its exceptionally long bole.

Read about Jacaranda in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Jacaranda. (Brazilian name). Bignoniaceae. Handsome tubular-flowered trees and shrubs, grown far South and also under glass. Leaves opposite, 2-pinnate, rarely 1-pinnate; Ifts. usually numerous, entire or dentate: fls. showy blue or violet, mostly in terminal or axillary panicles, often very freely produced; calyx small, 5-toothed; corolla-tube straight or curved, regular at the base or somewhat constricted above the ovary and broadened above; corolla-limb somewhat 2-lipped, the 5 lobes rounded and spreading and nearly equal; disk thick and cushion- like; perfect stamens 4, didynamous; staminode about as long as the stamens, club-shaped at the apex and often bearded at the top: fr. an oblong, ovate or broad dehiscent caps. Species about 50, in the American tropics. Prop, by cuttings of half-ripened wood. Under glass they are considered to be warmhouse subjects. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.