He named it Poinciana regia now known as Delonix regia. For Bojer, it was a cultivated specimen as it was found near dwellings. He sent seeds to the Pamplemousses Garden in Mauritius.” And soon island life was governed by the cherry red flowering season. But Bojer did not stop there. As trading with foreign botanical gardens was common practice at the time, he sent seeds to Ceylon and Calcutta in the mid-1830s. They then continued on to Africa, the West Indies and the Far East. Well-travelled seeds indeed. Yet uncertainty hovered over their provenance for quite some time. “The origin of the tree was not confirmed until 1932. The botanist Leandri found other Flamboyant trees in Madagascar, in the indigenous forests of the Antsingy and in the gorges of the Manambolo River,” continues Cláudia Baider. In addition to Flamboyant trees, Wenceslas Bojer gave Mauritius a major book, Hortus Mauritianus, published in 1837, gathering all the island’s exotic and indigenous species. Born in Řesanice, southern Bohemia, (now Czech Republic), this botanist and naturalist is one of the big names who made Mauritius into a Garden of Eden. The scarlet flowers light up the whole island, here in Port Louis (3) and Cap Malheureux (6) outside Notre-Dame Auxiliatrice church. People walk under and on their shortlived colours in Médine (4) near the sugar factory, a spot frequented by photographers and by Cláudia Baider (5), in charge of the Mauritius Herbarium. Les fleurs écarlates égaient l’île entière, ici à Port-Louis (3) et à Cap Malheureux (6) devant l’église NotreDame Auxiliatrice. On marche sous et sur leurs couleurs éphémères à Médine (4) près de l’usine sucrière, spot bien connu des photographes et de Cláudia Baider (5), en charge de l’Herbier national de l’île Maurice. 4 5 6
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