Pau-Brasil

My mother planted this queen of all Brazilian trees when she and my dad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, 8 years ago. Pau-Brasil is a slow-growing, gorgeous hardwood that gave the name to the country of Brasil: its wood is red, and the dye was loved by the Portuguese and Europeans. They called it brasil, or the color of blaze, and eventually the whole land from where the dye came became known as Brasil.

I included a few more pictures from our varandah...