A Trinidadian runner takes time out for photos of poui trees · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A blossoming pink poui tree in Trinidad. Photo by Bobbi Gail Xavier, used with permission.
One of the most beautiful aspects of the dry season in Trinidad and Tobago is the blossoming of the poui. A tall ornamental that generally grows to about 12 metres (40 feet), it is widely used in both public and private landscaping because of its gorgeous blossoms. Pouis flower in either vibrant yellow or delicate pink, almost like a tropical version of Japan's cherry blossoms.
Pouis are most commonly spotted dotting the parched hillsides during this time of year, as well as lining the sides of highways, but perhaps the place you can best see them up close and in clusters is around the Queen's Park Savannah in Port of Spain, where they stand like sentinels along the running path which borders the capital city's largest green space.
Facebook user, avid runner and amateur photographer Bobbi Gail Xavier regularly exercises around the Savannah; she also road-runs in various parts of the country and shares her experiences with friends and followers by taking and posting pictures of the beautiful scenery. Naturally, poui trees have been populating her timeline of late; some of her loveliest images are republished here with her kind permission.
Clockwise, left to right (L-R): A blazing yellow poui tree on the grounds of a business place along St. Clair Avenue, one of the roads that branch off the Queen's Park Savannah, is so laden with flowers that it forms a carpet on the ground. A runner runs past a line of pink pouis as he approaches Queen's Royal College, the first of the Magnificent Seven, a row of historical mansions on the western side of the Savannah. A yellow poui blooms at the entrance to the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), on the Savannah's southern side.
L-R: A pink poui stands out against the blue sky at the start of the Cocorite stretch, which leads to Trinidad's western peninsula. A low-angle shot makes the flowers of this tree seem like a crown. A carpet of pink lines the footpath on the Savannah's eastern end.
Clockwise from top, L-R: A pink poui peeks through; Xavier says of this photo, “I photographed a boat load of poui this morning, but this one, even with the cars, stood out.” A close-up of pink poui blossoms. Cars circle the Savannah at dusk, the setting sun a perfect backdrop for another yellow poui bordering NAPA. The pouis are all silhouetted as the sun goes down, but it is as if the sky has absorbed their splashes of rose and gold.
Even though their colours might appear muted at dusk, pouis maintain their regal resplendence as day turns to night.