Brazilian Rain Tree Bonsai

Easy indoor care makes this interesting rainforest tree a great bonsai for beginners.

Brazilian rain tree bonsai. The brussel s bonsai brazilian rain tree bonsai responds to ambient conditions by closing its leaves when it rains gets dark or becomes too hot. The brazilian rain tree or pithecellobium torta is an unusual tree that makes for an excellent bonsai. If you need help identifying your tree try our bonsai tree identification guide. This one also flowers but it s not what you d expect.

It likes warm temperatures and full sun in nature but in a bonsai pot it should be protected from extreme heat and sun during the hottest days of tropical summers. The brazilian rain tree is a hardwood legume that goes by the latin name pithecellobium tortum. It has crooked stems and branches thorns and a peeling grayish bark. She was a nurse at the american embassy in brazil.

When jim saw what a beautiful tree developed from his seeds he also began propagating it from cuttings. That white puff you see that s the flower. Cool but not colorful. It is a tree that can grow to over 15 feet tall and spread over 18 feet in diameter.

The brazilian rain tree is native to south america more specifically brazil. This indoor non flowering bonsai makes an ideal gift for a relative or friend who loves weather lore. From seed grown by the late jim moody of jupiter florida. The rain tree tolerates dry conditions however it prefers to be evenly moist in a container.

Like most of its relatives this tree has compound leaves hard wood and is very spiny. The seeds were brought to him in 1978 by his sister in law. The brazilian rain tree was first created as bonsai in the u s. It has compound leaves with 3 pairs of bipinnate leaves.