Students of television history know that entertainer Jimmy Durante closed his weekly variety program with the cryptic message, “Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.” Theories abounded as to whom, or what, the salutation applied. Durante’s first wife? A restaurant … Continue reading
Category Archives: Flowering Trees
About 40 years ago, a Miami couple fresh from a long trip to Asia brought seeds of an attractive Indian evergreen tree to Fairchild Tropical Garden. Over time this species, Polyalthia longifolia (a/k/a P. longifolia var. pendula), has proven to … Continue reading
Over thousands of years, Brosimum alicastrum has attracted common names as easily as sugar water attracts hummingbirds. In Mexico alone, it is said to have more than 68 names in various local languages. Among the more common monikers are Maya … Continue reading
In 1832, famed avian artist John James Audubon (born Jean Rabin), was visiting a friend in Key West when he gazed into a neighbor’s yard and saw a beautiful flowering tree, which we know as Cordia sebestena. So impressed was … Continue reading
Bauhinia is a large genus — more than 500 species — of trees and shrubs native to both the Old World and New World tropics. Typically, their leaf pairs are arranged in a butterfly wing, or back-to-back, configuration. Therein lies … Continue reading