It's VERY HOT........Trees Thrive

Over the past week the weather has turned NASTY, VERY NASTY.  Hot and sticky, relatively windless and oppressive.  Sunday was awful- 36.9 maximum [ just 0.3C below all time hottest for November] and there is little relief in the offing.  Oh for a cooling storm!

There has been virtually no rain around Darwin over the past month or so, after a burst on one day of around 15 -  25 mm.  While there has been rain south of Darwin, it has not penetrated as far north as city areas, although there has been rain south of the city around Berry Springs and Adelaide River, and even further south to Katherine.

But oh the local trees.............they are flowering magnificently.

Pride of India - pink and purple, Albizzia / Samanea saman the majestic rain tree covered in yellow fluff,  Poinciania  [ Delonix regia] - both red and orange forms; a wide range of colours in frangipanni, a few yellow flowered Peltophorum,  Allosyncarpia sp - now more common as a street tree in Darwin city and even in a few suburbs with their attractive pale yellow/ lemon bunched flowers.

One should not forget the displays of bougainvilia shrubs - white, purple, red and many more colours also now in full flower.  They thrive on dry weather!  

It is time.........the regular pre wet season flowering.

Purple Pride of India street trees

Red Poinciania in flower

Peltophorum in flower - bright yellow

The piece de resistance - a magnificent orange poinciana [ fairly uncommon] near the Trower Road overpass, in absolutely glorious full flower

Pride of India - More Great Flowering Trees

Pride of India – the name says it all. A fantastic flowering tree that gets to about 8 m [40 feet]. Botanical name - Lagerstroemia speciosa. Alternate common names – crepe myrtle or Persian lilac [there are others too] Here in Darwin they are flowering right now, mid October. There seem to be three common forms here in Darwin – pale pink, cerise [dark pinky /red] and lilac, and often they are inter mingled where they have been used as street trees. Unfortunately, they can be somewhat susceptible to termites, and there are a few sad specimens that seem to have been somewhat significantly damaged by termites, probably as a result of stress due to poor watering in the dry season, where not all street trees get well looked after by the adjacent householder.

They say that the tree benefits from year round watering, but the most magnificent flowering specimens tend to often be relatively less irrigated. There is a trade off between large well grown trees and plenty of flowers – so a balance is needed to get both.

This year the trees seem very prominent with excellent flowering.

Bangalore in India has some excellent specimens, and they are commonly grown as ornamentals in SE Asia – Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, India, Singapore and tropical Australia, even as far south as Sydney. There was one at my parents house in Sydney, but it never grew to be the giant tree seen in the tropics, more like a large woody shrub. Still flowered beautifully though, and deciduous!

At this time of the year, when it is hot, very dry and dusty and the weather is plain just stinking hot, the presence of some of these great flowering trees in full bloom do help to lift your mood.

As does a good mango - yes, it is mango season too!!