Jacaranda

Description:

Purple panic is a term for student stress during the period late spring and early summer used by students in south east Queensland. The purple refers to the colour of the flowers of Jacaranda trees which bloom at that time and haven been extensively planted throughout that district. The panic refers to the need to be completing assignments and studying for final exams. Because the Jacaranda blooms in Queensland around October, approximately a month before final university exams for the year, student mythology and superstition claim that if a student has not started seriously studying for the final exams by the time the jacaranda blooms it is too late; if a bloom lands on a student’s head during exam time the student will fail an exam, but which can be undone by the student catching a second bloom before it lands. The Jacaranda when in bloom is also known as the exam tree. Conversely, while also the time of year the Jacarandas bloom in Pretoria coinciding with the year-end exams at the University of Pretoria, legend has it there that if a flower from the Jacaranda tree drops on a student's head, the student will pass all their exams