Every day, more and more blue and lilac flowers sprout from the jacarandas. They herald the peak of spring and the beginning of summer and, when they start to fall, they leave the streets and roads of the capital with a purple blanket that embellishes any artery, the so-called “Purple Rain”.
But it’s not just Lisbon’s streets and avenues that are full of jacaranda trees. These days, social networks have been flooded with spectacular photos of this species of tree native to Brazil.
We went in search of the most fantastic photos, in 9 unique places in the city, but first let’s find out a little more about this tree.
What is this tree that “paints” Lisbon?
Known scientifically as jacaranda mimosifolia, the jacarandas you see sprouting up in the streets of Lisbon are trees from the bignoniaceae family, from Argentina, Bolivia and southern Brazil.
Their lilac and bluish flowers are much appreciated for their ornamental qualities and for the beauty they bring to some of the city’s streets every year, especially when it gets hotter, which was earlier this year.
It is now known that the first jacaranda seeds came from Brazil at the beginning of the 19th century (1811-1826) to form part of the Ajuda Botanical Garden’s collection of tree species, brought by Félix Avelar Brotero, the garden ‘s director at the time.
At the time, which coincided with the return of the Portuguese Court from Brazil, Félix Broteco encouraged the spread of this tree throughout the city , offering seeds to anyone who wanted to grow them, so that today this flower is part of the Lisbon landscape every year from the beginning of summer.
Jacaranda trees in Lisbon:
1 – Largo de Santos
2 – D. Luís Garden
3 – Rossio Square
4 – Avenida D. Carlos
5 – Largo do Rato
6 – Rossio Square
7 – Avenida 24 de Julho
8 – Largo do Carmo
9 – Belém
A árvore de glicínia mais bonita do mundo está no Japão e podes visitá-la virtualmente