The toborochi tree and the Guaraní legend
Are you welcoming spring time? Then it is autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, but not because of that we have less flowers, as a matter of fact, in Santa Cruz, Bolivia there is always something in full bloom, even in the winter. Now the amazing fall has arrived with its cool breeze, the gorgeous display of bright pink or white flowers of the toborochi trees light up the streets of our city. The toborochi tree is one of the coolest and weirdest trees in the world and Santa Cruz is the city of the toborochi’s! One more reason to visit our city soon, see the beautiful toborochi trees for yourself and enjoy the autumn bloom!
The toborochi is one of our favorite trees so we are happy to tell you a little bit about it.
Toborochi (Guarani word for sheltering tree, scientific name: Ceiba speciosa) is a tall (15-20 m high) tree with a thorny trunk. The tree is native to tropical forests in countries in South America (the north-east of Argentina, east of Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil). It belongs to the same family as the baobab and the kapok.
The tender wood of the young toborochi tree is a preferred food of various predators. However, the serious thorny spines on the tree’s trunk protect it.
Mature trees grow swollen trunks shaped like bottles, making the trees look like pregnant, that is why this tree is also known as the pregnant tree. It is also called as arbol botella (bottle tree) or Palo borracho (drunken tree) as they grow older their trunk becomes twisted.
In winter time, from June to September (South American winter), the leaves fall out.
The toborochi tree is an emblematic icon of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, it is present in its coat of arms (granted by the King of Spain Don Felipe IV in 1636). It is a symbol of the hospitality of its people, as indigenous people used to take refuge in the hollow trunks of the toborochi.
Toborochis are not only beautiful, they are also an important food source and refuge for parrots and other kind of birds and insects besides other native wildlife such as sloths and monkeys. Don’t you think there should be even more toborochis all across the city? Wouldn’t you love a city filled with toborochis? We should also feel very grateful for the excellent shade they give us, shelter in the heat of the summer.
The legend of the Toborochi tree
The Bolivian (Guaraní origin) legend over the toborochi says that long time ago, a beautiful pregnant princess called Araverá (Sparkle in the sky) hid inside a tree to give birth to the (colibrí) hummingbird god’s child. The Añas, evil spirits decided to kill her because they thought that she would give birth to a powerful god prince who would punish and destroy them. So they went looking for the girl riding on fire-breathing flying horses, but Aravera escaped from the village on a flying seat, a gift from her husband. After months of being chased by the evil spirits, she decided to return to earth and hide inside the trunk of a toborochi tree where she gave birth. The thorns of the tree protected her from the Añas.
Her son grew up and he fulfilled the prophecy when he finally took revenge from the evil spirits, but princess Araverá stayed inside the tree until she died. According to the legend the toborochi is a sacred tree, the spirit of Araverá still remains inside. Every year, in the autumn she comes out in the shape of the tree’s beautiful pink flowers to stay in contact with her husband, her big and eternal love. The pink blossoms of the toborochi tree do, in fact, attract hummingbirds. The fragrant toborochi flower is also known as “flor de mayo” (May flower).
Click here to listen to the legend of the toborochi tree (activate CC for the English subtitles)
