No. 205 - Formosa Tree

I was sitting at the pool today enjoying the vitamin D boost from the gorgeous sunny day. I checked my phone to see what my Facebook friends were up to. One of them posted that he "went outside to find a large part of the Formosa tree in the backyard was ripped away during the storms last night. Hopefully it doesn't kill the entire tree..."

I recently got a new HTC Incredible smart phone. It has an app called Voice Search. I tapped it. I spoke the words "formosa tree." It quickly returned several internet links. I tapped the first one. This phone is, indeed, incredible.

It learned that "Formosa" is the Portuguese word for "beautiful." The tree is also called a mimosa (yes, spelled like the drink) or silk tree. It is a medium-sized deciduous tree that blooms in the summer. It has fallen out of favor amongst southern gardeners and now it is often considered a weed-tree. The Formosa tree is capable of reaching 20-40 feet in height with a spread of 50 feet on old trees. It is usually low-branched, forking from near the ground and makes a great climbing tree for children.