Superbloom

 

This is a fully mature butia capitata, commonly known as the pindo or jelly palm.

A native of Minas Gerais, Brazil, it bears a delicious small fruit, similar in taste to a loquat.

I planted it over thirty five years ago. It probably stands 18 to 20' tall, I have never measured.

Here is an older picture of Leslie underneath its boughs and you can see how it dwarfs her.

Anyway, I had the idea long ago to put pieces of night blooming sereus in the crooks of the palm and as you can see, it has taken over.

We have kept the beard on the tree for decades to give the epiphyte some sun protection but finally trimmed it back this year.

We are near a superbloom. Look at all these buds. Roman candles of gigantic flowers are getting ready to go off and explode! The periodic blooms we get every year are really spectacular. This one will probably be the best ever.

The initial bloom started this morning, tomorrow should be quite epic. The flowers are 12" to 15" across. I am going to bring a tape measure home and hope to get a nice picture in the morning to share with you when it is at full resplendence.

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