Somebody told me this was a native Australian tree. I doubted the accuracy of the claim and went to Mr Google for clarification. I find this tree is actually a clone of a tree found in Hong Kong in 1880 and propagated from cuttings in the Hong Kong Botanical Gardens. It was released to the public in 1914 but does not produce seeds so all new plants are cuttings from another. So this would explain why these trees have grown in the same area on the side of the road all my life. They have travelled down the roadside a little, probably with the help of the graders doing road works, but have not spread further than 500m. I've been telling myself for ages that I should photograph this flower and today's October word "travel" inspired me. I travelled 20 km down the road to get the photos and used the internet to find the information that now has me wondering how did the original trees arrive here in the valley. What was their journey?
