Jacaranda tree

The bright purplish-blue flowers give an almost electric coloration to the trees, and when the leaves drop (after about eight weeks) they create a royal-blue carpet on the green grass. Just gorgeous.

These are jacaranda trees, and they add a beautiful splash of color that announces the coming of spring.

Florida has lost of non-indiginous plants (and animals, too) that the state would like to get rid of, but the jacarandas are more welcome, even though they are not native to Florida.

There are more than 50 types of jacarandas, but most of the ones you see in Florida come from the Amazon river valley area of South America.