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Flowering Trees in Tenerife
We have just returned from Tenerife where I discovered a number of new (to me) flowering trees. First, a stunning red blossomed tree with fern or frond-like leaves, on which the flowers look like a kind of red honeysuckle. In fact they are not related. This is the Delonix regia, flame tree or Royal Poinciana, a native of Madagascar but found in tropical and semi-tropical areas. It is a member of the bean family or Fabaceae so it will be related to tonka beans, sweet pea and acacia. Other trees that we noticed were a yellow blossom similar to the above which is an acacia. And two types of oleander,…
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Forget-me-nots
These pretty blue flowers don’t really have a scent although I have seen perfumes inspired by them or interpretations (a floral bouquet can be made with rose and jasmine notes, and a powdery background). Myosotis sylvatica is the Latin name for the garden or wood forget-me-not and they are part of the borage family Boraginaceae. Flowering during April and May you can see a beautiful sea of blue at ankle level. There is also Myosotis arvensis, the field forget-me-not, and the national flower of Alaska is Myosotis alpestris or the alpine forget-me-not. Myosotis scorpioides has an interesting name – this is the water forget-me-not also called “scorpion grass”. Sylvatica has…