Garden Blog - Top Tropicals
Date:
The Magic of 3
top tropical trees
from the legends of Caribbean
Yellow Poinciana, Jacaranda, and Royal Poinciana:
Three happy colors of the Tropics
While traveling through the vibrant and diverse Caribbean, we acquired three exquisite local paintings. Two of these are masterfully rendered on jacaranda wood plates, and the third is beautifully crafted on a calabash. These stunning pieces of art celebrate the three most spectacular and revered flowering trees of the Tropics: Yellow Poinciana, Jacaranda, and Royal Poinciana.
These trees are not only visually stunning but also deeply embedded in Caribbean culture, legends, and folk remedies.
The Yellow
Poinciana, with its bright golden blossoms, is often associated with joy and
sunlight, symbolizing the warmth of the Caribbean spirit.
The Jacaranda,
known for its striking lavender-blue flowers, is a symbol of wisdom and
rebirth, often blooming in a breathtaking display that signals the change of
seasons.
The Royal
Poinciana, with its fiery red and orange flowers, is a symbol of passion and
energy, often referred to as the "Flamboyant" tree due to its bold and dramatic
appearance.
These trees hold a special place in the hearts of the Caribbean people. They are featured in numerous local stories and songs, and their flowers and leaves are used in traditional remedies and rituals. Owning these paintings feels like possessing a piece of the Caribbean's soul and its natural beauty.
Now, we are fortunate to have not only the paintings but also the actual trees. Watching them grow and bloom in our garden brings a piece of the Caribbean to our home, a constant reminder of our travels and the vibrant culture we experienced. These trees and their representations in art are a testament to the region's rich heritage and its enduring connection to nature.
Get them now while we have them. No need to go too far into Caribbean!
Peltophorum africanum - Golden Flamboyant, Yellow Poinciana. An excellent garden shade tree, beautiful in flower. This variety starts flowering at young age, in 3 gal pot.
Jacaranda mimosifolia - Hypnotizing bluish-purple, trumpet-like flowers create the magical image of the tree. Incredible, long-lasting purple blooms. When the trumpet-shaped blooms finally fall, they form a lilac carpet beneath the awe-inspiring Jacaranda for luxuriant curb appeal...
Royal poinciana, Flamboyant tree, Delonix regia - "One of the most spectacular flowering trees in the USA, and probably among the top 10 on this planet. In full bloom, it is like a regal elephant caparisoned in red and yellow brilliance." (Larry M. Schokman, The Kampong, National Tropical Botanic Garden)
What is the most useful tree in the world?
Moringa oleifera - Bridal veil, Horseradish tree, Drumstick Tree, Ben Oil Tree
Moringa oleifera - Bridal veil, Horseradish tree, Drumstick Tree, Ben Oil Tree
Moringa oleifera - Bridal veil, Horseradish tree, Drumstick Tree, Ben Oil Tree
- 💚 One of the most versatile and valuable trees known to humanity is Moringa oleifera, also called: Horseradish tree, Bridal veil, Horseradish tree, Drumstick Tree, Ben Oil Tree. It is indeed considered one of the most useful trees in the world. This reputation stems from its wide range of nutritional, medicinal, and practical applications.
- 💚 Moringa is a beautiful flowering tree with fragrant white flowers. It produces long green pods (looking like drumsticks!) and the seeds have been compared to a cross between peanuts and asparagus.
- 💚 Moringa leaves are rich in vitamins (A, B, C, E), minerals (calcium, potassium, iron), and amino acids, and have strong antioxidant properties. they are used in traditional medicine to treat inflammation. Moringa can help lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
- 💚 Almost every part of the tree is edible, including the leaves, pods, seeds, and flowers. Each part has its unique nutritional profile and culinary uses. Used in teas and cooking.
- 💚 The roots are used as a substitute for horseradish and the edible leaves make a highly nutritious vegetable. The roots have also been used in many folk remedies.
- 💚 Many Moringa products produced commercially: leaves, powder, oil. Moringa oil, extracted from the seeds, is used in cosmetics, skincare products. Seeds can be used to purify water, making it safer to drink.
- 💚 The plant can be used as a natural fertilizer and pesticide. Leaves are used as a nutritious feed for livestock.
📚 Learn more: How to grow a happy Moringa Tree
🛒 Plant your own Moringa Tree and save the Planet
#Food_Forest #Remedies
🏵 TopTropicals
What is the most delicious Annona fruit?
Annona muricata - Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola
Annona muricata - Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola
Annona muricata - Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola
Annona muricata - Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola
Annona muricata - Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola
Annona muricata - Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola
Annona muricata - Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola
- 🍐 Annona muricata - commonly known as Soursop, Guanabana, or Graviola, is widely regarded as the best-tasting annona fruit.
- 🍐 This tropical tree, native to Tropical America, produces large, unusual-looking fruits with a unique blend of sweet and slightly sour flavors. The custard-like pulp is fragrant, smooth and creamy, making Soursop perfect for milkshakes, desserts, or simply enjoyed fresh.
- 🍐 Soursop is evergreen in warm climates, though it's highly sensitive to cold and requires temperatures above 50°F to thrive. However, it can also be grown indoors in containers, making it possible to enjoy its delicious fruit even in cooler regions. The tree itself is medium-sized, fast-growing, and relatively easy to manage in a pot, offering a wonderful option for indoor fruit growing.
- 🍐 Soursop is one of the largest of the Annonas, and its quirky, bumpy fruit shapes make it a fun conversation starter. We even have an interesting article on how to grow, hand-pollinate and fruit Soursop in an apartment - ideal for plant lovers looking to bring a taste of the tropics into their homes!
- 🍐 Soursop leaves are superheroes in the world of natural remedies. Known for their potential to fight cancer, these leaves are packed with compounds that may help keep rogue cells in check. Whether brewed into tea or turned into extracts, they've become a popular go-to in holistic health circles.
📚 Tropical Treasures Magazine:
Growing and fruiting Soursop in apartment (PDF download)
Spoiler in the next post ⬇️⬇️⬇️
More about Anonnas in previous posts:
Top 10 fast-fruiting trees: #1. Annona
Why everyone wants the Sugar Apple?
The best tropical fruit tree for container growing, and the fastest to fruit: Annona
Spiny Hedgehog fruit: what does it taste like?
🛒 Plant your own Guanabana
#Food_Forest #Remedies
🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals
What is Nescafe Coffee made from?
Mucuna pruriens - Nescafe, Purple Jade Vine
💜 Earlier we mentioned Green Jade Vine and Yellow Jade Vine. This one is purple!
- Mucuna pruriens - Nescafe, Purple Jade Vine has unusual royal purple flowers. The dark violet blooms appear closely pushed together in grape like clusters, up to 1 ft long and 6" in diameter.
- The seeds known as mucuna beans or Nescafe and used as a coffee substitute.
- It has been used for generations in India as a medicinal plant.
- Very vigorous woody tree creeper - during warmer weather this vine can grow 2 feet a day!
- Related to red Jade vine (Mucuna bennettii).
🛒 Order Nescafe Vine
#Food_Forest #Remedies #Hedges_with_benefits
🏵 TopTropicals
Tired of an ugly hedge? Replace it with Aglaia - Chinese Rice Flower, and enjoy Lemony Fragrance year around!
Aglaia odorata - Chinese Perfume Plant flowers
Aglaia odorata - Chinese Perfume Plant
Aglaia odorata - Chinese Perfume Plant
Aglaia odorata - Chinese Perfume Plant hedge
- 🟡 Aglaia odorata is also known as Chinese Perfume Plant, Chinese Rice Flower, or Mock Lemon.
- 🟡 The plant has an outstanding fragrance from tiny, rice-sized yellow flowers.
- 🟡 Aglaia grows into a dense bush without pruning. It is relatively slow-growing; so large plants are rare and hard to find.
- 🟡 Easy to grow bush, it is perfect for a cold tolerant tropical hedge.
- 🟡 Aglaia has many medicinal uses; contains odorine and odorinol, which have cancer chemopreventive activity.
🛒 Get a few bushes of Aglaia for lemony-fragrant hedge
#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits #Remedies
🏵 TopTropicals
Why the shamans call Ayahuasca vine of the soul
Banisteriopsis caapi - Ayahuasca
Banisteriopsis caapi - Ayahuasca
Banisteriopsis caapi, known as Ayahuasca, is the key ingredient in the traditional Amazonian brew revered as the "vine of the soul." Used in sacred rituals for its hallucinogenic and healing properties, it cleanses the body and spirit while serving as a profound teacher in indigenous ceremonies.
#Fun_Facts #Remedies #Hedges_with_benefits #Food_Forest
🛒 Grow your own Ayahuasca vine
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What plant you need if your kid is afraid of chickens
Neea psychotrioides - Pigeon Plum, Hoja de Salat, Saltwood
- 🐣 Neea psychotrioides - Pigeon Plum, Hoja de Salat, Saltwood - from Central America is rare in cultivation. This small tree or bush should get more attention from tropical plant collectors.
- 🐣 Neea is very nice, easy growing and make those "jelly beans" like berries. The flowers are almost unnoticeable. The berries are very showy and come right after. It fruits for several months non stop.
- 🐣 Mature fruit is edible. In its native countries, this plant is widely used medicinally.
- 🐣 From the book "Messages from the Gods. A Guide to the useful plants of Belize": "It is used to treat babies who can not sleep, often accompanied with crying, especially when they have been frightened by chickens..." So the plant is very useful especially for those who are afraid of chickens!
🛒 Order Neea Pigeon Plum
#Hedges_with_benefits #Remedies
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Index of TopTropicals Telegram Channel
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#Butterfly_Plants - Butterfly attracting plants.
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#Food_Forest - Fruit trees, Spice plants, and Edibles.
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The Most Fragrant Medicinal Herb Youll Ever Grow!
Lippia alba - Poleo, Pitiona
- 🌱 Just brushing past it releases a wave of spicy, citrusy fragrance - Lippia alba, also known as Poleo or Pitiona, is an herb garden must-have. Fast-growing, drought-tough, flood-friendly, and practically indestructible - it thrives where other plants fail!
- 🌱 HELTH BENEFITS OF POLEO - LIPPIA ALBA
- 🌿 Crush a leaf - instantly uplifting aroma! Close relative of popular Lantana but with much better scent.
- 🌿 Grows into a lush, dense groundcover with dainty pink blooms
- 🌿 Used in traditional Oaxacan cooking - especially mole sauces
- 🌿 Leaves and roots make teas and syrups for cough, anxiety, digestion, and more
- 🌿 Known for sedative, antidepressant, and analgesic effects
- 🌿 Each plant has a unique essential oil profile!
🌱 Whether you’re into healing herbs, culinary magic, or just want the best-smelling plant in your garden - this is it.
🛒 Bring Home Nature’s Most Fragrant Medicine!
📚 Learn more:
What is the most aromatic medicinal herb
#Food_Forest #Remedies #Discover #Hedges_with_benefits
🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Why you should grow a Pitanga tree
Eugenia uniflora - Surinam cherry, Brazilian cherry, Pitanga tree - fruit
Eugenia uniflora - Surinam cherry, Brazilian cherry, Pitanga tree - fruit var. Lolita
Eugenia uniflora - Surinam cherry, Brazilian cherry, Pitanga tree
Eugenia uniflora - Surinam cherry, Brazilian cherry, Pitanga tree - fruit var. Lolita
Pitanga (Eugenia uniflora), also known as Surinam cherry or Brazilian cherry, is a tropical fruit that's as tasty as it is healthy. This small tree or bush brings beauty to your yard and benefits to your body. With shiny leaves, fragrant white flowers, and bright red or dark maroon fruit, it's an easy-to-grow plant that also happens to be a nutritional powerhouse.
❓ So, why plant Pitanga?
- 🍒 Pitanga is packed with vitamins. Pitanga is loaded with vitamin C for glowing skin and a strong immune system, and vitamin A for healthy eyes.
- 🍒 Pitanga is full of antioxidants. Especially the dark fruits, which are rich in plant compounds like lycopene and beta-carotene that may protect your cells and reduce inflammation.
- 🍒 Pitanga has healing power. Traditional medicine has used it for heartburn, stomach issues, and even respiratory conditions. Lab studies show it may help fight bacteria and fungi too.
- 🍒 Pitanga might fight cancer. Early research suggests pitanga extracts may slow cancer cell growth.
- 🍒 Pitanga tastes like summer. When fully ripe, the juicy fruit has a sweet-tart flavor - great in salads, desserts, jams, and even cocktails. Pitanga var. Black Star, or Lolita has exceptional flavor, larger sweeter fruit than regular red-fruit variety.
⚠️ Bonus: It grows fast, stays evergreen, and makes a great natural privacy screen or edible hedge.
If you're looking for a tropical fruit tree that’s both beautiful and beneficial, Pitanga is a smart choice. Just make sure to pick the fruit when fully ripe - and prepare to fall in love with this cherry that's not quite a cherry!
🛒 Start growing Health today - add Pitanga to your Food Forest
📚 More about Lolita Cherry from previous posts:
- 💋What makes Lolita different from regular Surinam Cherry?
- 💋Top 10 fruit you'll ever need for your health benefits: #8 Lolita Cherry
- 💋 Who is that Sweet Black Lolita from Surinam?
- 💋Top 10 fast-fruiting trees: #3. Eugenias - Tropical Cherries
- 💋How to make a jam with Surinam Cherry
#Food_Forest #Remedies #Hedges_with_benefits #Discover
🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals