Jacaranda mimosifolia jacaranda

The Inner Quad’s jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia) puts on its annual show for Commencement. Sairus Patel, 10 Jun 2025

The Inner Quad’s jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia) heralds the start of summer by peaking in bloom on Memorial Day. It continues to put on a stunning show through finals week and Commencement. Sairus Patel, 29 May 2017

A spectacular tree covered in iridescent lavender-purple blooms from late May through June. The first planting in the academic area was in 1985 in the inner northwest island of the Inner Quad. This multi-trunked specimen flourished, and has since become perhaps the most photographed tree on campus, reaching its floral peak just before Commencement. Fallen blossoms form a magnificent carpet upon which graduates pose for portraits.

The tree’s two-inch trumpet-shaped flowers have gently curved tubes, while the delicate leaves, oppositely arranged as with all members of its family, are finely twice-divided, giving rise to its species name mimosifolia, meaning “mimosa-like leaves.” The flattened, rounded seed capsules are remarkably difficult to pry open; when ripe, they open clam-like, releasing winged seeds.

More have been established on campus. One hundred and fifteen were planted in 1988 with the construction of Rains Houses, mostly in the four semi-protected courts along Bowdoin Street, with a few near the Buttery crosswalk. Of these, 65 remain. Several were planted opposite Pearce Mitchell Houses on Salvatierra Street. One grows in the Sequoia Hall courtyard on Via Pueblo. Eighteen march down the grand terraced steps into the courtyard of the Huang Engineering Center, dedicated in 2010. Two from 2016 are in the McDonald Hall courtyard facing Jane Stanford Way, a bright purple screen on one side serving as an all-year reminder of summer’s display.

Jacaranda mimosifolia seed cases and seeds. Ronald Bracewell, Trees of Stanford and Environs (2005)

Prior to 1985, two insignificant trees were noted on the path leading into Frost Amphitheater at its southeast corner; one remains. Another described as a full-grown specimen was on Cabrillo Avenue near Dolores Street; a declining tree in that area (location) was last seen in 2020.

In the residential area, one is at 793 Cedro Way and a small one on the Santa Fe Avenue side of 733 Mayfield Avenue. In Palo Alto a remarkably tall specimen stands in the courtyard of the Roth Building at 300 Homer Avenue, likely planted in the 1930s when the building was constructed as the first permanent home of the Palo Alto Medical Clinic.

A visiting scholar from Pretoria, South Africa, upon learning of my interest in trees, whipped out her phone and in about two seconds proudly showed me her favorite rooftop views of the city’s famous jacarandas in bloom. The avenues and cross-streets of the Jacaranda City were engulfed in color, as if purple feathered boas had been draped along them.

Jacaranda mimosifolia in Sequoia Hall courtyard. John Rawlings, 10 Jun 2005

Jacarandá is the Portuguese word for îacaranda, the word used by the Tupi people of Brazil, where various Jacaranda species, though not J. mimosifolia, are native. While most will use the dictionary pronunciation, you can try impressing your friends by saying it the Portuguese way: zha-ka-rã-DAH.

J. acutifolia, a closely related species from the Andean valleys of central and northern Peru, is very similar in appearance but smaller, with fewer pinnae and leaflets – and much more intense flower coloration. Much of the J. mimosifolia in the nursery trade may in fact be a hybrid with J. acutifolia, which imparts a depth of color to the flowers which would otherwise be paler. A white-flowered form of J. mimosifolia, ‘Alba’, is also available; a pair was planned for the Math Corner refresh in 2016, though Chinese fringe trees were ultimately planted instead.

Name derivation: See text above.