The Best of St. Croix
Now In Bloom Island-wide...
The Caribbean is known for its lush vegetation and spectacular
tropical blooming trees. Here's what's in season now.
This is a Tipid tree which has pale yellow fragrant blooms on its new growth of
leaves. The brown seed pods are from the last blooming stage.
This is a Genip fruit tree in bloom. Later this summer, the tree will be
laden with panacles of green globes the size of large marbles, with the
fleshy fruit inside.
Before this year's bloom, the Tipid trees were full of brown pods with few leaves
as in the photo above.
Yellow Poui, also known as Apamata, Gold Tree, Cortez, Brazillian Walnut,
Ironwood. The scientific name of this Class 1 fire rated tree is Tabebuia
Serratifolia. The brilliantly yellow- flowered trees are at the height of their glory.
There is also a Pink Poui, not so showy as the yellow. It is also in its blooming
season.
Lignum Vitae trees are also in the middle of their long blooming season. These
trees grow very slowly, bearing orange seed pods with red coated black seeds.
The wood of this long-lived tree is so dense that it sinks in water.
A beautiful and ever-colorful Croton.
A flowering ginger.
Here we have the mighty Kapok, Ceiba pentandra, also known as the
Silk-cotton tree, Java cotton and cousin to the Indian Bombax ceiba. It can have
a spiny trunk and can be 150 feet tall. It has green pods which pop open and
release the silky cottony boll. The fiber from the boll has been used in pillows
and mattresses of old. The fiber is also water resistant and bouyant and has
been used for flotation device stuffing. It is also a medicinal tree.
The Silk-cotton seeds and their fiber parachutes dispersed by wind on this fence
and beyond.
May -
A White Frangipani.
June -
A purple flowring vine
clambering over a rooftop
in Frederiksted town.
The Royal Poinciana or Flambouyant as it it commonly called is in bloom this
month. Due to the sparse rainfall, many are not at their fullest, but here are a few
brilliant examples.
Tamarind pods in the sunlight, are nearing the end of their fruiting cycle.
July -
Tamarinds are in bloom again after the mature fruit of last month.
Tamarind flowers...pastel colors up close.
Roses in bloom at my house.
An orange-yellow flambouyant.
More yellow blooms of the Laburnum. A Flambouyant in the background.
Blue latan palm trees at the seaside.
Genip (locally pronounced 'kenep') nearing ripeness.
A show of the three colors of Flambouyant.
August -
At Five Corners stoplight, red and yellow Flamouyant are still showing off.
September -
Manjack have flowered and are now fruiting. These photos taken after a rainshower.
The Hogplum or Mombin tree is, likewise, finished flowering and is fruiting.
Fruit in hand. The aroma of this fruit is intoxicating.
Another fruiting tree, the Dog Almond, flowers and fruits at the same time as the
Hogplum, its fruit is sometimes is mistaken for Hogplum, but it is inedible.