THE LOVELY POINCIANA TREE

And I thought the purple Jackaranda Trees were spectacular!  There is another absolutely beautiful flowering tree here in Brisbane, THE POINCIANA trees which are in full bloom right now; big bursting red-orange blooms are everywhere and they leave a carpet of red underneath them everyday. This is such a beautiful place!

Here are some interesting facts (thank you Colin Campbell):
If asked to name a single tree that's helped shape the character of Brisbane, it would be the magnificent poinciana Delonix regia. In years gone by it was traditionally planted as a street tree and now enhances a lot of the city’s older suburbs. The poinciana is native to Madagascar, and in Brisbane the bright orange flowers herald the coming of summer. They also signal the start of the storm season.
They can grow up to 10 metres, but mostly only reach between 3 to 5 metres. However, their spreading growth habit, which can be up to 10 metres, means the poinciana is not a tree for a small yard.It's a semi deciduous tree – shedding the old leaves in spring, but new ones follow immediately, so it's never without foliage.
Because they're a legume, they produce attractive seed pods which look like a big bean.  
So we are incredibly lucky that our city fathers had the foresight to plant so many of these wonderful poincianas so we can all enjoy the magnificent avenues.