Jacarandas in parts of South Africa are flowering earlier: why it’s a warning sign

Jennifer Fitchett, University of the Witwatersrand In September each year, South Africa’s Gauteng province turns purple. The cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria are well covered with trees – and jacarandas (Jacaranda mimosifolia), with their purple blooms in late spring, are a prominent part of this urban forest. About 16% of the land in the Gauteng…