breathing space: Dainty blooms of the strong narra and molave

Monday, July 4

Dainty blooms of the strong narra and molave

Early in June, just as summer faded into the humid air of the upcoming rainy season, I received a text from Abby F. about a late-blooming narra in its full yellow glory. The next day, I decided to take a peek and hopefully some photographs, but unfortunately, the afternoon rains previously had all but brought down the golden yellow flowers!

Sprays of yellow narra flowers

As I looked down at the yellow confetti flowers at my feet, I noticed that they were mixed in with lavender! The molave trees, much less showy than the narra trees, were also in bloom!

Lavender blooms mixed with yellow: Molave with a splash of narra.

The dainty cornflower blue blooms on the trees were attracting several bees and other insects, although I could not catch a scent.

Pale blue-lavender blooms of the molave,

Popular as a hardwood used in furniture and to literary analogies of strength and resiliency, I only recently found out what this native tree actually looks like.

I am glad to have several molave trees planted around the university campus where I can admire them everyday, in bloom or not.

Happy to see rows of molave around the Loyola Heights campus.

Side by side with the narra trees, the yellow and pale blues contrast quite well, although it is easy to miss the muted molave blooms beside the much more cheerful narra flowers.