| General Description | It is a fast growing deciduous or semi-evergreen tree; it grows very tall and also very wide. It is known for its magnificent trumpet-shaped flowers, which become purple in full sun and are fragrant. It was given the Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society, but it is listed as a category 3 invasive species in South Africa and parts of Australia. |
| ID Characteristic | Its main distinguishing feature is its regal, celestial, bluish purple flower. It has thin grey- brown finely scaled bark. It is upright, open, irregular, sometimes round headed. |
| Shape | It has a spreading, vase shape. It has a wide-open umbrella-shaped canopy with a lot of space between branches. |
| Landscape | It can be used as an accent tree, shade tree and/or lawn tree. It is used as a street tree or garden tree, but it produces a lot of trash when leaves and flowers fall, so it is not recommended to plant it near the pool or other areas that should be kept free of debris. |
| Propagation | It propagates with softwood cuttings and seeds. |
| Cultivation | It needs full sun, but reflected or western sunlight on the trunk should be avoided as it is
susceptible to sunscald. It prefers to grow in well drained sandy soil (pH 6.0-6.8), but it is
considered tolerant. It needs deep, regular supplemental watering, especially during the warm
times of year. When pruning, one should elevate the canopy base and shape and stake trees when they are young to promote a standard form, otherwise jacaranda will have multiple trunks. It can be grown in cities in warmer climates, such as the southern United States of America. It can be grown as an indoor plant in colder climates, but it usually will not flower. |
| Pests | There are no serious insect or disease problems if the soil is well-drained, but mushroom root rot is a problem in poorly drained soil. If it is grown indoors, it might attract aphids and whiteflies |
| Habitat | It can grow in bushland, grassland, wooded ravines and riverbanks in warmer places, such as Australia, southern Africa, Hawaii, south-eastern United States of America, and South America. |
| Bark/Stem Description | Bark is thin and easily damaged from mechanical impact. Branches droop as the tree grows and will require pruning beneath the canopy for vehicular or pedestrian clearance. It has a showy trunk and should be grown with a single leader. It does not have any thorns. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description | Flowers are bluish purple and trumpet-shaped. Eggplant-like buds grow in clusters of about 4 cm wide. Fern-like leaves grow in an opposite arrangement. |
| Leaf Description | It has an opposite leaf arrangement and leaves are green. Its bipinnate compound leaves can grow up to 50 cm long. Entire leaflet and obovate shape. The shape of the leaflets is long to a long oval. |
| Flower Description | Flowers are large, showy and tubular and are grouped in an alternate arrangement. The individual Jacaranda flower size varies in length from 2.4 to 5.2 cm and in width between 0.7 to 1.2 cm. Flowers are bluish purple and will change depending on the amount of sunlight. Flowers have a pleasant fragrance. Depending on the weather, spring and summer flowering are possible. |
| Fruit Description | Fruit is round, pod-shaped, brown and is not showy. It can grow 2-8 cm. The fruit covering is dry or hard and it does not attract wildlife. |
| Colour Description | Bark is grey-brown. Leaves are green and flowers are bluish purple. Fruit is brown. |
| Texture Description | Bark is of a fine texture when the tree is young but becomes finely-scaled when the tree is
mature. |