So Many Dishes

My first walk after the surgery was a slow stroll around a couple blocks of our neighborhood. I spotted this flower on a small tree, and immediately took a picture. I didn’t recognize it, and Siri told me it was Tabebuua heterophylla, or pink Tabebuia. My initial reaction was, “surely not.” I know Tabebuia; the trees flower in early spring, with the showy blossoms lasting only a short time. Most of the trees have bright yellow blooms, although we’ve seen trees with bright pink flowers, more often in the middle part of the state. I thought Siri was full of it.

I decided to check my best source of plant information other than Ken, Landscape Plants for South Florida: a Manual for Gardeners, Landscapers and Homeowners by George K. Rogers. Sure enough, Siri was right. The yellow Tabebuia is a different species, T. aurea, and what I’ve always called pink Tabebuia is actually purple Tabebuia, or T. impetiginosa.

One of the main reasons I didn’t think this was a Tabebuia was that it has pods, as you can see in the picture. I thought this meant that the tree was in the Fabaceae, or bean, family. It’s not. It’s actually in the Bignoniaceae family, which is made up of trees and woody vines, mostly ornamentals. I don’t know much about the family, but looking through Rogers’ book, I realize that the plants in this family that grow in South Florida are mostly ones I know.

So that’s the end of my botany lesson for the day, and yours, too 😄