Whenever it's time to write an article for The Honolulu Advertiser, I usually pick out a spectacular tree or plant that's flowering in the garden.

This time around, in search of inspiration, I started out for a walk in Foster Botanical Garden. As I checked things out, I began to register a familiar smell in the air: the pungent mix of garlic, onions and tobacco. I realized that I was by the cigar-box tree, and knew that it was flowering.

The cigar-box tree (Cedrela odorata) flowers once a year, usually in June or July. Clusters of light greenish-yellow flowers grow at the tips of branches. Tubular in shape, the flowers are only about a quarter-inch long. Thousands of them were on the tree growing at Foster garden, as well as sprinkled all over the walkway and surrounding ground. Visitors notice the tiny flowers but often don't connect them to the distinctive odor wafting in the air.

Some find the odor to be pleasant. One visiting couple from San Diego walking in the garden wondered aloud if there was a taco stand nearby that was producing the garlicky, oniony smell. Another person inhaled deeply as she passed by, saying that the smell reminded her of boiled peanuts.

Others think the odor is heavy and unpleasant.

Either way, within a few short weeks, the smell will be gone, as flowers are replaced by maturing fruits. The fruits have no odor.

It takes nine to 10 months after flowering for pollinated fruits to mature. When ripe, the oval brown fruit capsules will open like five-pointed stars, each releasing 40 to 50 flat, papery-winged seeds while still on the tree. The tiny, winged seeds will be blown by the wind to other parts of the garden.

Most people notice only the empty capsules that once protected the seeds. When they pick up and examine the woody fruits, a comment often heard is how great they would be in dried floral arrangements.

Also called the Spanish cedar or West Indian cedar, the cigar-box tree is native to the Mexican coasts, lowlands of South America, and the West Indies. The tree is a fast grower and can grow to a height of 60 to 100 feet.

Commercially, the cigar-box tree is highly prized for its timber. The presence of oils and resins result in the wood being aromatic and resistant to termites and rot. The lightweight, reddish-brown wood is soft and easily worked, yet durable, and is valued for making furniture, cabinets, closets, musical instruments and of course, cigar boxes.

Aside from its importance as a source of timber, the cigar-box tree is also valued as a shade and street tree in South America and the West Indies.

The tall trees are ecologically significant, as they house a large variety of beneficial insects in their native range. Flowers provide a plentiful supply of nectar for bees in the production of honey.

After the flowering and fruiting season, the cigar-box tree will slip back into the background of the garden. For the moment, however, the unmistakable odor of the flowers brought back memories of the first time I experienced it — during my first days of work at Foster Botanical Garden, 18 years ago.

Winnie Singeo is director of the Honolulu botanical gardens. Reach her at hbg@honolulu.gov or 522-7060.