20 March 2010

Monsieur Dombey's Tree


Isn't this flower just beautiful? It's in the Casino Gardens and is called Dombeya x cayeuxii which originates from South Africa. The genus 'dombeya' is named after Joseph Dombey an 18th-century French botanist, doctor, and explorer.

There are many beautiful shrubs and trees in the Casino Gardens and it's always worth a stroll to see what is in flower.

11 comments:

Virginia said...

Spring has arrived in all it's glory to Monte Carlo! What a lovely tree. I've never seen one. Reminds me of hydrangeas.
V

Sharon said...

That is a beautiful bloom. It makes me wonder if it would grow here.

Anonymous said...

Like Virginia mentioned before, at the first glance I thought it was a hydrangea...

I have never seen such a tree before! Very nice! Monte Carlo is always good for surprises. In every way...
Barbara from Germany

Jilly said...

Yes, I too thought of hydrangea but when I looked it up it didn't show this tree. Mostly the trees in the casino gardens have labels and this one didn't. I sent the photo to a botanist friend who was able to tell me the name right away. V like a hydrangea tho including the leaves.

Anonymous said...

Ah, ok. Thanks for telling me / us.
It's always interesting to learn more and to think about it. I wonder if this tree is a domestic one or maybe a gift to Monaco from far away...
Barbara from Germany

maria said...

We might have all been correct: I remember seeing these beautiful flowers before and they were called "tropical hydrangea."

Monsieur Dombey must have had a fascinating life exploring the world; he spent many years in South America, especially Peru. :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, oh... I saw the photo and read Jilly's story about it. Then I was fascinated of the photo again and forgot about what I read about the origin of the tree before.
So it's not a domestic one...
I agree with you, Maria, M. Dombeys life seems to be fascinating, but not always happy. And he died much too young.
Look what I found out about him in the meantime:
http://www.famousamericans.net/josephdombey/
Barbara from Germany

Jilly said...

Yes I read that link too Barbara but was surprised it was on a website called famous Americans and he wasn't an American. I found that strange that he was on that website?

Yvi said...

HI,

this is a wonderful tree and so lovely blossom...

Greetings
Yvi

Kate said...

A formal garden can give endless hours of pleasure. I am always glad that I am the viewer rather than the gardener...

Ola said...

Very beautiful!

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