plant I.D. please

[domalle]

I have stone age technology. A work computer and a smart phone with a not so smart operator.
I've googled "purple flower trees", etc and looked at zillions of photos and none so far are a match.
Thanks, Ken.

Stone age technology works for me. If all else fails one of the best ways to identify a flowering plant or tree is to visit a local nursery especially around bloom time. Flowering plants are usually being offered at bloom time because they have piqued public interest and demand is high. And the plants are typically tagged for identification.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Or take a small branch of said tree to said garden center. And ask someone who may know. Ask for the Latin as well as English name.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Latin names are the way to go.
English (or otherwise), local or 'common' names are a minefield.

 

[domalle]

,

This tree is in my back yard and drops flowers all over during the raining season. The torts don't seem to eat them but they make tea out of the water.... is it safe?

View attachment 139233 View attachment 139234

It's Tabebuia heterophylla, the Pink Trumpet Tree.

 

[Iochroma]

,

It's Tabebuia heterophylla, the Pink Trumpet Tree.

I agree. Not a dangerously toxic plant.

Incidentally, there are several types of Rhododendron that will live in the sub-tropics, including Vireyas.

Moderators: can you move this thread to Plant ID?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

They DO look like pink trumpets!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I still think it looks like a rhoadie - do the flowers grow in clusters? There are several types, they span literally from the arctic to the tropics and come in a lot of shapes, colors and configurations.

I still think it looks like a rhoadie - do the flowers grow in clusters? There are several types, they span literally from the arctic to the tropics and come in a lot of shapes, colors and configurations.

One of my Rhoadies....

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I think it's mallow

maybe....hahaha

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Well it being deciduous and not a broad leaf evergreen rules out the rhododendron family completely. I know of none that shed all their leaves in the fall.
I've never seen mallow as anything other than an annual, and certainly I've never seen one more than 3'tall let alone as a 20' tree.

What makes you the expert? My mallow is about 14 feet tall so far....My Rose of Sharon are close to 20ft...my mallow comes back every year....so there!

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

What makes you the expert? My mallow is about 14 feet tall so far....My Rose of Sharon are close to 20ft...my mallow comes back every year....so there!

Easy rocket. I've seen Rose of Sharon in town as wonderful shade tress. But they all have lobed leaves not the single edge. As for your mallow, is it the same plant growing of the same trunk? My mallow self seeds itself with me doing nothing but watching it grow but it's from seed each year.

 

[Iochroma]

Well it being deciduous and not a broad leaf evergreen rules out the rhododendron family completely. I know of none that shed all their leaves in the fall.
I've never seen mallow as anything other than an annual, and certainly I've never seen one more than 3'tall let alone as a 20' tree.

Deciduous members of the genus Rhododendron are found in North America and Asia, and while they are called "azaleas", they are Rhododendrons. Many other members of the family are deciduous as well.

Likewise, many mallows are perennials that reach tree heights. 15-footers are common here.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I'll bring photos to my plant guy in the morning. The flowers are almost all gone now.

 

[domalle]

I'll bring photos to my plant guy in the morning. The flowers are almost all gone now.

Tabebuia heterophylla, the tropical pink trumpet tree, was a firm ID.

 

[Pearly]

It looks like it may be Tabebuia (Pink Trumpet). I used to live in South-East Florida and there were tons of those. "Trumpets" have coarse bark and irregular shape to their trunk and large limbs. I can't really tell for sure by the pictures posted