Sydney and the Jacaranda

The picturesque canopies of jacaranda branches seem designed to be viewed against the warm yellow of Sydney’s sandstone. When viewed from the harbour or walking along the streets, no other flower has such a transformative effect on the city.

Sydney Attractions

I have written about jacaranda, but not on the pages of this site, but the blossoming of jacaranda in Sydney is an event like cherry blossom or sakura blossom in Japan. In Sydney, during the blossom season, and in Japan, people gather in the parks for a picnic, walk, and take pictures in the streets where these trees are planted.

I have written about jacaranda, but not on the pages of this site, but the blossoming of jacaranda in Sydney is an event like cherry blossom or sakura blossom in Japan. In Sydney, during the blossom season, and in Japan, people gather in the parks for a picnic, walk, and take pictures in the streets where these trees are planted.

Jacaranda – The Tree of Dreams

The jacaranda blooms

Interestingly, in Sydney, during the blooming of jacaranda, as in Japan, it often rains during the blooming of the sakura. So, every sunny day counts. Photographers are inundated with orders for ‘love stories’ for wedding albums, family photos or portraits against a backdrop.

As the trees bloom from Paddington to Lavender Bay and beyond, the light seems to change, becoming bluer – at once softer and sharper. When viewed from the harbour or the land, no other flower has such a transformative effect on the town.

These picturesque canopies seem designed to be viewed against the warm yellow of Sydney sandstone or the scarlet flash of the Illawarra firewood – a combination popular for over a century.

Jacaranda is not native to Australia. There are many legends and stories of how it came to Australia. The first is that before ships sailed to Australian shores, they stopped in South America, and that’s when the first seedlings were brought in. This confirms that the first tree appeared in the garden of Thomas Sutcliffe Mort in the early second half of the 19th century. The fact that Sydney’s oldest tree, which is just over 160 years old, can still be seen in the Royal Botanic Gardens is proof of this theory.

One of the earliest sources gives credit to plant hunter Allan Cunningham, who was sent from Rio de Janeiro to New South Wales and later worked briefly as a colonial botanist.

‘This most beautiful flowering tree is native to Brazil, and no garden can be called complete without a plant of it.
The specimen in the Botanical Gardens is worth seeing after travelling fifty miles.
Its beautiful rich lavender flowers and light pinnate foliage make it the jewel of the season.’

Sydney Morning Herald, 5 December 1868.

According to the second version, it is believed that the first specimens in Australia arrived in the 1850s. The first tree to be successfully cultivated was planted by the manager of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Walter Hill, in the 1860s. But that is no longer the story of NSW state and Sydney.

Jacaranda, native to Brazil and Argentina, is the name of a genus of about 50 different species of trees with various colours. The name is derived from the Tupi Indian word ‘yacharana’ or ‘jacaranda’, a Portuguese word spelled with a j.

Although some species have other coloured flowers, most people know the plant jacaranda mimosifolia – blue jacaranda.

Many amateur gardeners tried to grow the jacaranda at home, but most were unsuccessful because the tree grows best from fresh seed, and Australia was far from South America.

In 1868, Michael Guilfoyle, horticulturist and owner of Guilfoyle’s Exotic Nursery in Double Bay, developed a sophisticated method of growing the tree from cuttings.

The plant’s popularity grew, and in the late 19th and early 20th century, some councils gave away saplings as part of landscaping schemes. This is where a new legend arises: in the 1950s, a sapling was given to a maternity hospital on the north bank upon discharge. Young mothers would plant the saplings in their backyards and watch the trees grow as their children grew, hence the spread of jacarandas on the north shore.

Some say – ‘It’s an urban myth’, and local historians puzzle over how there came to be so many trees that colour the Mosman area purple every spring. After all, there’s another theory. They say that soldiers brought them as gifts to grieving widows after World War II.

One of Sydney’s most significant landmarks was the University of Sydney’s jacaranda tree, which grew in the courtyard of the main building.

The jacaranda is known as the ‘examination tree’

The first jacaranda tree on this site was planted in 1927 by German professor Eben Gowrie Waterhouse. Waterhouse was a renowned camellia expert but felt the university could use a beautiful flowering tree to grace the courtyard. Prankster students uprooted it several times before the student association condemned the vandalism.

Students have long had a superstition that if you don’t start studying by the time the tree blooms, you will fail your exams. A similar superstition is held by Brisbane students who say that if a jacaranda flower falls on your head, you will fail your exams, but the curse can be lifted if you catch the flower before it touches the ground and with your right hand.

An old jacaranda tree in the courtyard of the main building of the University of Sydney fell on 28 October 2016 due to high winds and old age. It was 88 years old. It is true that almost immediately, a new jacaranda tree, genetically identical, was planted, but now we have to wait for it to grow up and become a worthy successor. In 2014, cuttings were taken from the original Waterhouse Jacaranda and grafted onto the base of genetically related trees.