If you thought that with the Ceibos, the Jacarandas and the Ceiba Speciosa, you know all about Buenos Aires botany I must disappoint you. Here is another tree, one of the most common and most striking trees in Capital. Today, apart from the little bit of purple left on the Jacarandas, the streets are yellow…

The Tipuana Tipu, Tipa, also known in English as Rosewood, is a native South American tree, which from a distance, looks exactly like a mimosa. But when you approach them you see this one is quite different. They are also called ‘the daughters of Thays‘ because before this landscape architect started to redesign the green areas in Buenos Aires, there were only 3 of them. Now there are about 9000 all over town.

It is a tree that is said to be sad, as at the end of spring, it seems to shed tears. But it is not the tree itself, but the insects that are in it, that shed crystal drops of foam which is called ‘el llanto de las tipas’ (the tears of the Tipas). These insects are called ‘chicharrita de la espuma’.

Some people still believe that Thays has known this all along, and that he has put these trees all over town, so they could deceive the people with their false tears…