PINK AND WHITE SHOWER TREE
Cassia javanica Linnaeus
(Cassia nodosa Hamilton)[1]
Great feathery masses of unevenly tinted, pink flowers cover this small tree, suggesting in their luxuriance and variable coloring the apple blossoms of the temperate zone. The flowers grow on short branchlets, in what seem to be tufts of reddish stems, the tufts growing out of the main branches so close together these branches are completely enwrapped. The splendid effect of such inflorescence makes the Pink and White Shower tree one of the most important in Hawaii’s annual procession of blossoms. The tree is deciduous and flowers often precede the leaves, but these shortly appear, adding contrast to the total effect, with their fresh green. The leaves are of feather form with many pairs of rounded, medium sized, leaflets.
Each flower is made up of five petals, from the center of which grows a tuft of stamens. The calyx and stem is dark red. Each petal is palest pink or white, with deeper pink veinings, giving the name of Pink and White shower. Eventually, too, the pale pink fades adding to the variegated effect. The tree remains in bloom for months, with June as its peak. It never becomes very large and is often quaintly irregular in form. Long, cylindrical, brown, seed pods hang on when flowers and leaves have fallen. It is a native of tropical Asia.
This tree is grown widely as a street tree in Honolulu, Piikoi street between Wilder and Lunalilo being a good place to see it. There are, also, some fine specimens along Nuuanu avenue. ([Plate III])
ORCHID TREE
Bauhinia variegata Linnaeus
Exquisite lavender or white orchids, as beautiful as Cattleyas, seem to grow on the small Orchid tree. It is not, however, related to the real orchids, but is a member of the legume family. When covered with pure white flowers the tree is a splendid sight, but the lavender variety, which blooms more sparsely, shows more beauty when the individual flowers are examined. They resemble strikingly the real orchid, with a large main petal marked with purple, and four crepy side-petals. A bunch of white stamens grows from the center. The flowers appear in the cooler months, with spring as the finest season. They are scentless.
The leaves of this Bauhinia, as of others, are peculiarly shaped being deeply cleft into two rounded lobes, so that they suggest the wings of a green moth. Insects find the leaves very succulent, so they are usually full of holes, or completely eaten.
The tree is a native of India where its bark is used for tanning and dyeing, while its leaves and flower buds are used as a vegetable. ([Plate III])
A pink-flowering member of the Bauhinia family is called the St. Thomas tree and is Bauhinia monandra. This has similar lobed leaves and pink flowers, both being smaller than on the Orchid tree. The main pink petal is dotted with crimson and the tree is very gay when in bloom. After the flowers fall it hangs full of pods.