Wilhelmina Tenney Rainbow Shower Tree ~ Flowering Trees of Hawai'i

Blossoms from the pink and white Shower Tree were pollinated by a blossom from the Golden Shower in 1918 by David Haughes, head nurseryman for the Board of Agriculture of the Territory of Hawaii. They are now propagated by air layering or grafting on tap rooted seedlings. In 1965, Honolulu adopted the proposal of then-Mayor Neal S. Blaisdell and made the Wilhelmina Tenney Rainbow Shower Tree and its dusty pink blossoms the city’s official tree.

Shower trees are some of Honolulu’s most visible harbingers of summer. The original Rainbow Shower Tree was planted in the yard of Wilhelmina Tenney on Lunalilo Street in 1920. Offspring of the original were planted all over the city and have found their way to neighboring islands.

This one is growing on Baldwin Avenue between Upper Pa`ia and Makawao on Maui. Herald of the summer season of beautiful flowering trees on Maui, this is a lovely soft dusty pink and yellow variety growing near Makawao, with a subtle beauty in early morning light. The flowers are red, yellow and white, but sunlight blends the colours to soft pink and yellow. This beautiful flowering tree may attain a height of 50 feet.

The Rainbow Shower became the official tree of Honolulu in 1965 as part of a campaign to promote Honolulu as “The City of Flowering Trees.” The original Rainbow shower tree was planted in the yard of Wilhelmina Tenney on Lunalilo Street in 1920. Offspring of the original were planted all over the city and have found their way to neighboring islands.

Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi
06 June 2008 09:16:32
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Cassia fistula is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae, native to southern Asia, from southern Pakistan east through India to Myanmar and south to Sri Lanka. It is a medium-sized tree growing to 10-20 m tall with fast growth. The leaves are deciduous or semi-evergreen, 15-60 cm long, pinnate with 3-8 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet 7-21 cm long and 4-9 cm broad. The flowers are produced in pendulous racemes 20-40 cm long, each flower 4-7 cm diameter with five yellow petals of equal size and shape. The fruit is a legume is 30-60 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm broad, with a pungent odour and containing several seeds. The seeds are poisonous. This one is growing on Baldwin Avenue between Upper Pa`ia and Makawao on Maui.