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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacaranda

Jacaranda
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jacaranda
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Bignoniaceae
Tribe: Tecomeae
Genus: Jacaranda

Jacaranda is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of Central America, South America, Cuba, Hispaniola and the Bahamas.[1] It has been planted widely in Asia, especially in Nepal. It has been introduced to most tropical and subtropical regions. The genus name is also used as the common name.
Jacaranda trees in full bloom in Islamabad.

Contents

1 Etymology
2 Growth
3 Genus
4 Selected species
5 Cultivation and uses
6 Gallery
7 Notes
8 External links

Etymology
Jacaranda Tree

The name is believed to be of Guarani origin, meaning fragrant.[2] The word jacaranda was described in A supplement to Mr. Chambers's Cyclopædia, 1st ed., (1753) as "a name given by some authors to the tree the wood of which is the log-wood, used in dyeing and in medicine" and as being of Tupi-Guarani origin,[3][4] by way of Portuguese.[5] Although not consistent with the Guarani source, one common pronunciation of the name in English is given by /ˌdʒækəˈrændə/.[6]
Growth

The species are shrubs to large trees ranging in size from 20 to 30 m (66 to 98 ft) tall. The leaves are bipinnate in most species, pinnate or simple in a few species. The flowers are produced in conspicuous large panicles, each flower with a five-lobed blue to purple-blue corolla; a few species have white flowers. The fruit is an oblong to oval flattened capsule containing numerous slender seeds. The genus differs from other genera in the Bignoniaceae in having a staminode that is longer than the stamens, tricolpate pollen, and a chromosome number of 18.
Genus
Flower of Jacaranda cuspidifolia.

The genus is divided into two sections, sect. Jacaranda (syn. sect. Monolobos, an invalid name as it includes the type species of the genus, J. caerulea) and sect. Dilobos DC., based on the number of thecae on the anthers. Sect. Jacaranda (which includes Blue Jacarandas) has 18 species and is found primarily in Zimbabwe, in North, West and East of Iran, western South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Sect. Dilobos, which is believed to be the primitive form, has 31 species and is found primarily in southeastern Brazil including the Paraná River valley. The anatomy of the wood in the two sections also differs. Although usually treated in sect. Jacaranda, J. copaia differs somewhat from all other members of the genus, and may be intermediate between the two sections (Dos Santos & Miller 1997).