Widely grown Jacaranda trees have made Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, the most distinguished in the world for their prominence. That is why it is also named as Jacaranda city. Though this magnificent tree is not an indigenous to South Africa (it belongs to tropical and subtropical regions of South and Latin America, Mexico, and the West Indies), a huge number of Jacaranda trees have dotted the entire landscape of Pretoria. These Jacaranda trees are very showy when in bloom and color city roads with their purple flowers. They are lined up in the streets , showering their bright petals on the footpaths and roads of the city.

The spring season runs in Pretoria in the last four months of the year. During all this period all these Jacaranda trees are fully covered with the bright, purple flowers. This is the right time to visit Pretoria. Visitors to Pretoria feel themselves under the cover of a large purple sheet.

According to estimation, there are around 58000 Jacaranda trees in Pretoria. The plantation in the city started when two Jacaranda plants were grown in a school situated in the Arcadia area of the city and since then they have been flourishing in abundance. Natively South American, this plant thrives in hot and humid climates, but it is also considered to be a good drought-resistant.

Pretoria has many botanical gardens like the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa and the Pretoria National Botanical Gardens, where almost 1000 various species of plants are grown but Jacaranda has its own significance. The local Radio station of Pretoria is also called Radio Jacaranda, which has derived its name from this beautiful tree.