Jacaranda

Jacarandas are not native to Hawaiʻi, but they have made themselves at home in the cool upcountry hills. For a few weeks each spring the trees drop their leaves and cover themselves in thousands of small, trumpet-shaped violet flowers.

From a distance a blooming jacaranda looks like a cloud of purple smoke. From underneath, the fallen petals turn the ground lavender and the light comes through the canopy in soft blue patches.

It is a brief, extravagant bloom, and it makes spring feel like an event rather than a season. The color is almost impossible to capture, which is why it is worth trying in pieces.