Alstonia scholaris

After a few mishaps, resulting in me barking up the wrong tree, literally, an Alstonia macrophylla outside of Woodlawn cemetery in little Havana, it didn't take me long to find the real Alstonia scholaris. And here it is. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden has two of them, one in lot 57a and another in lot 151. This one is in lot 57a, near the garden's entrance, on the East side of lake Pandanus. This is a beautiful tree and it displays its typical "pagoda" form. I can't wait to see it in bloom and sit under its canope to inhale its famous scent. Although Alstonia is well known for their medicinal properties, no scientific work I know has said that the scent is toxic, so it should be safe and I should survive that experiment. I'll live to tell you what that's like. Come back here in December to read more... Correction... This tree will bloom in October this year... Watch this spot.