Spring has arrived to Mexico City!
Mexicans are filling their social media accounts with images of dreamy violet trees that mark the beginning of springtime.
The color of spring in Mexico is violet, thanks to the flowers of these wonderful trees known as “jacarandas”, which have become emblematic in the Mexican capital.
The scientific name of this jacaranda species is Mimosifolia, and they are originally from South America and the Caribbean, especially countries like Bolivia, Argentina, Panama or Brazil, but they have proved to be very well adapted to the central Mexican weather conditions. Their trees can grow up to 20 meters tall.
Jacarandas are also supposed to be widely planted in Asia, especially India and Nepal.
The origin of jacarandas in Mexico City is somewhat of a mystery.
It is widely thought that in the 1930s, there was an effort to import thousands of cherry blossom trees as a friendship bond between Mexico and Japan. Unfortunately, the cherry blossoms were not well adjusted to the Mexican weather…
A great Japanese gardener by the name of Tsasugoro Matsumoto, came to Mexico City after doing some landscaping and garden designing in Peru. He confirmed that cherry blossoms were ill-suited for the area, and instead recommended to import jacaranda seeds.
The results were breathtakingly beautiful!
Matsumoto was one of the first Japanese immigrants in Mexico, and he would live in the country until his death in 1955, at the age of 94. He would design many important gardens in Mexico City, especially in the neighborhood known as Colonia Roma.
From mid-March, all inhabitants of Mexico City get the chance of experiencing this wonderful gift of spring!
In India too, Jacaranda Mimosifolia or the Wild Almond tree has been part of the Bengaluru landscape for decades. One of the most beautiful garden ornamental trees, the tree adorns some of Bengaluru’s old and large gardens.
A research conducted few years ago by Prof. Harini Nagendra of Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) on the impact of street tree canopies on mitigating environmental pollution and buffering microclimatic variations in the city, found that besides serving an ornamental purpose, these trees are important to help decrease the sky rocketing pollution levels in the city.
Plant a jacaranda and nurture it for six months, then enjoy its beautiful blooms year after year by the road side. You will also be contributing to reducing the rapidly rising carbon dioxide emissions in your city.
Known as Neeli Gulmohur in Hindi, Neelkanth in Bengali and Bhangeree Phool in Nepali, this violet splash of colour blooms in India from March to May.
