Flamboyant: the stunning royal poinciana

My current visit to Brazil coincides with the season of the royal poinciana, its sweeping branches laden with red-orange flowers. In Brasília, the show begins with the advent of spring in October and continues with the many varieties finishing their blooming cycle while others begin. In this fashion, the eye-catching trees delight the eye throughout the capital city until February.

Here in Brazil the royal poinciana is called flamboyã, after the French flamboyant. In some places it is referred to as peacock tree. A native of Madagascar, it has been planted extensively in tropical areas across the globe.

The tree grows rapidly and when mature can be up to 40 feet tall. Its flowers become its fruit, and since it’s a member of the pea family these are brown pods up to two feet long, which litter the ground beneath the tree and cause work for the gardener. Poincianas in Brasília have red, orange or even yellow blooms. The tree was introduced to Brazil in the 19th century, and was used extensively in arborization of Brazil’s largest city, São Paulo, among others. When Brasília was created as the new capital in 1960, hundreds of poincianas were planted, among other species. The trees have flourished in the cerrado, the high plains of the Federal District and Goiás. There are about 100,000 flamboyãs in the area of the capital.

Poincianas are spectacular, with their vast sweeping branches in brilliant red and orange in season, but their roots are quite invasive, and they are only appropriate in large open spaces. Driving around Brasília, I love the pops of color throughout the city, and have been on the hunt for good specimens to photograph. The fallen blossoms beneath the trees create a carpet of red or orange. I haven’t found a yellow poinciana yet, but I will update when I do!