Ruptly
"Hundreds of toborochi trees bloom every May, painting the streets of Santa Cruz pink and announcing the arrival of winter. At various points in the city, this tree with pink flowers, whose canopies reach between 10 and 12 meters in diameter, stands out in the urban landscape with a majestic image. At its feet, fallen petals form natural carpets that beautify the sidewalks. The scene attracted national and international tourists this Monday, captivated by the natural spectacle. "The toborochi is a very, very beautiful tree and it is in bloom. The thing is, in my country, Brazil, it doesn't exist, not in all regions. I am delighted," commented one tourist. "Yes, I like it because these trees don't exist in Cochabamba, they don't exist. I love it," mentioned a Bolivian resident. Activist Stefanny Piérola explained that the main characteristic of the toborochi is its swollen trunk and noted that the name comes from a Guaraní word meaning "prominent belly," alluding to an ancient legend according to which the tree houses a pregnant woman fleeing from a dark spirit called Añá. "Even foreigners, every time they come, I've always seen them making their stories [for social media] on every corner, crossing the street [saying] 'look at that tree, they look like Japan's cherry blossoms,'" she added. The toborochi belongs to the ceiba genus and has 48 species, eight of which are found in Bolivia. Its flowers become a source of food for birds, bees, and other pollinators during the dry season, when natural resources are scarce."
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