It’s June in Miami. Roadside vendors offer tasty mangos and lychees, and that most glorious of trees, the Royal Poinciana, is in bloom. Someone introduced the Poinciana, a native of Madagascar, to South Florida more than a century ago.
In 1894, Palm Beach’s first grand hotel opened—the Royal Poinciana. Back then, tourist season only lasted from the beginning of January to the end of February, so guests never saw the hotel’s namesake in bloom. We who live here, however, admire them throughout South Florida’s cities and suburbs.
In 1916, Charles Torrey Simpson admitted that “I said when I first saw one of these trees in bloom that I was willing to endure the torment of mosquitoes, sand burs [sic], land crabs and all the pests and vermin of Florida in order that I might live in a land where the royal Poinciana flaunted its splendid blossoms to the sky.”
Many South Floridians agree.
Top postcard: “Poinciana Tree, Miami, Fla.” Miami: J. N. Chamberlain, ca. 1915. Image no. 1984-100-17.
Bottom postcard: “Royal Poinciana Hotel, Palm Beach, Fla.” Milwaukee: E. O. Kropp, ca. 1905. Image no. 1990-258-1.
-- Rebecca A. Smith, Curator of Research Materials
No comments:
Post a Comment