Plate 073 · flower panicle, leaves and capsules IdentificationFive marks on the plate
- 1Blue-lilac tubular flowers, in large panicles.
- 2Fine bipinnate leaf like a fern.
- 3Round, flat capsule, woody.
- 4Winged seeds stacked inside.
- 5Carpenter bee, one of its pollinators.
Easily confused with Pink trumpet treeHandroanthus impetiginosusPink flowers, palmate leaves and a long capsule. CebilAnadenanthera colubrina var. cebilSimilar leaves, but white ball flowers and a long pod. 073 / 100 · PLANTS · BIGNONIACEAEVULNERABLE Jacaranda
Jacaranda mimosifolia
Tarco · Blue jacaranda
It is the jacaranda of streets and squares around the world, but its home is north-west Argentina and southern Bolivia. In Tucumán it grows wild in the lower forest, although today it is easier to find planted. In the forest it is called tarco.
- Tree height
- up to c. 15 m
- Altitude
- c. 500 – 1,500 m
- Flowering
- Oct – Dec
- Fruit
- flat woody capsule, c. 5 – 8 cm
- Native to NW Argentina
- Street tree
- Winged seeds
- Foothill forest
Altitude rangeWild in the lower forest
Foothill and lower montane forest In Tucumán it grows in the foothill forest and on lower slopes, up to c. 1,500 m. Wild populations are scarce.
EcologyFlowers for big bees
- Carpenter beesXylocopa · climb into the flower tube
- Hummingbirdsvisit the flowers for nectar
- Winged seedsthe capsule opens and the wind carries them
- Full sundry slopes and forest edges
Logging and clearing of the lower forest have shrunk its wild populations. That is why it is listed as vulnerable.
Life cycleLilac in spring
J F M A M J J A S O N D Flowering - Semi-deciduous. It drops some leaves in late winter and flowers before it fully leafs out.
- Tubular flowers. Panicles of blue-lilac flowers c. 5 cm long.
- Castanets. The round, flat capsule splits in two and releases winged seeds.
Where to look in Tucumán- Sierra de San Javier
- Quebrada de Lules
- Río Los Sosa
- Reserva Experimental Horco Molle