The origin of jacarandas and how they came to North Sydney

3 November 2025

It may have an iconic status in the Sydney springtime, but the jacaranda tree is surprisingly not native to Australia. With the upcoming season running from mid-October to peaking in mid-November, the purple haze never fails to draw a crowd.

The species of jacaranda that lines the streets is the jacaranda mimosifolia, a small native variety indigenous to the north-west region of Argentina and Bolivia. The arid climate there means it thrives in the Aussie environment.

So, how did jacarandas get here? There is a popular myth that tells of a midwife in North Sydney who would give jacaranda saplings to new mothers, encouraging them to plant the seeds in public places to watch them grow up alongside their children.

Although heartfelt, there is unfortunately little evidence to support this myth. The real tale behind the jacaranda’s arrival in Sydney starts with British botanist Allan Cunningham, who was fascinated by them in bloom on a trip to Rio de Janeiro sometime in 1818. He originally took a specimen back to London to plant in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, but the icy winters meant they could only survive in controlled environments, such as hothouses.

Cunningham, following his appointment as the colonial botanist of NSW in 1837, is believed to have been the first person to successfully plant a jacaranda in Sydney.Dr Russell Barrett, a systemic botanist from the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, told Australian Geographic that the first seeds were most likely brought in from Argentina to Brisbane.

“Shipping captains brought seeds to trade that they thought would be of interest, likely to make some cash on the side. It’s understood that a former director of the Brisbane City Botanical Garden, Walter Hill, brought some seeds off a shipping captain and planted them in 1864. And if you look at the current records on the Australasian Virtual Herbarium as to where they were recorded naturalised, you do get these span of dots centring out from Brisbane and they probably came to Sydney rapidly after,” said Barrett.

Following their introduction to Australia, gardeners were on a mission to make jacarandas flourish. Landscape designer Michael Guilfoyle in 1886 devised one of the most trusted methods, utilising bell jars, ‘cold pits’ and baths of warm water. Those trees that did survive to maturity were considered rare.

Where can I see them?

In the North Sydney area there are plenty of places where you can see these historic trees. The most popular is McDougall Street’s 30 mature jacarandas, which were a gift from the town of Grafton. They were planted in the 1930s as part of a beautification program started by Her Excellency Lady Gowrie, who wanted to ensure Admiralty House at Kirribilli was satisfactory to visiting royals.

Lavender Bay in North Sydney not only has a beautiful collection of jacarandas, but also boasts a great lookout of the Harbour Bridge, Luna Park and harbour views. Also, Montpelier Street in Neutral Bay offers a charming avenue of mature trees all the way down to Forsyth Park.

Written by Hannah Wilcox and originally published by North Sydney Sun on October 2022