The Araguaney, National Tree of Venezuela

In Venezuela, tropical country, due to its geographical location, between the Tropic of Cancel and the Tropic of Capricorn, near the equatorial axis, according to experts in climate and environmental issues, four seasons are not enjoyed, spring, summer, autumn. and winter, but there are two main seasons or periods, one dry and the other rainy. The dry season extends from December to April and the rainy season from May to November. It is also incorrect to call the period of April, May and June "spring", although in these months the flowers are dressed in their best colors due to the first rains.

At the beginning of the rainy season, between the months of April, May and June, and even before, February and March, when the first rains of the season advance, Araguaney puts golden brushstrokes in fields, plains, mountains, forests and savannas, warm, cold and arid lands with its massive short-term flowering, which is an attraction for the bees that pollinate the flowers, and for the birds that visit it in search of their nectar.

The Araguaney is the national tree of Venezuela, one of the representative symbols of the abundant and varied flora of the country. It is a tree that reaches a height of up to twelve meters and has a straight cylindrical stem with a diameter of approximately 60 centimeters. It adapts to the climatic diversity and the different soils of the country.

The Araguaney was declared a National Tree on May 29, 1948 by decree of President Rómulo Gallegos. It belongs to the chrisantha species, a word composed of two Greek words meaning "flower of gold"; Its scientific name is Tabebuia of indigenous origin. The name Araguaney comes from the term originated in the Caribbean voice "aravanei" with which the natives called this symbolic Venezuelan tree.

Note: The photos that illustrate this article were taken by my friend and colleague, who is a cultural promoter, ecologist, plastic artist and amateur photographer, Arturo Granados. The trees are in the land adjacent to their house located in a sector of the city where we live, called "Cocolí", in Río Caribe, Muncipio Arismendi in the state of Sucre.