Flamboyant Trees

It is good to know that life in the island endures even direct hits from Tropical Storms.  It is summertime and the flamboyant trees all over St. John are in bloom.  The flamboyant, also commonly called Royal Poinciana was named for Phillipe de Longviliers de Poincy who is said to have introducing the plant to the Caribbean.  Old time Virgin Islanders say that once upon a time there was a visitor to St. John who was in love with flamboyant trees. This man hired an airplane and flew all over the island dropping flamboyant seeds from the cockpit of the plane and this modern Johnny Appleseed is why the tree can be found in so many inaccessible locations brightening up St. John's verdant hillsides with sprays of red. This one is outside of Caneel and as you can see humans are not the only ones to appreciate its beauty.