Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

LEGUME FAMILY (LEGUMINOSAE)
CASSIA SUBFAMILY (CAESALPINIOIDEAE; CAESALPINIACEAE)
78. Flamboydn amarillo, yellow flamboyant
This handsome ornamental and shade tree, a
relatively recent introduction to Pureto Rico, is
characterized by: (1) the feathery or fernlike,
twice pinnate leaves (bipinnate) 8-16 inches long,
with numerous paired small oblong leaflets
inch long and %-3/8 inch broad; (2) the dense
coat of rusty or reddish-brown hairs on young
t.wigs, leaf axes, branches of flower clusters, and
flower buds; (3) many showy rust -yellom flowers
with 5 rounded petals, in large c usters; and (4)
conspicuous, broad, flat and winged pods, reddish
but tui-ning to dark reddish brown, 21/341/2 inches
long and 1-1:% inches broad.
A medium-sized to large evergreen tree 30-66
feet in height and 1% feet or more in trunk diameter,
graceful and with spreadin branches and
dense folia e. Most of the trees lere are not old
f
enoumh to lave reached large size, the maximum
else\v%ere being about 100 feet. Bark on small
trees is smoothish, with dots and lines (lenticels) ,
light pay, becoming brown and furrowed. The
inner bark is light brown and bitter.
The alternate leaves consist of a main axis and
1-4-30 paired lateral axes (pinnae), each bearing
16-32 paired leaflets. Leaflets have very short
stalks about 1/32 inch long, are roundecl?nd s!i htly
notched at apex and rounded and oblique at ?.I ase,
the edges not toothed, thin, the upper surface reen
and hairless, and the lower surface paler and nely
hairy.
Flower clusters (panicles) are terminal and
widely branched, nearly 1 foot long. The calyx
of the fragrant flowers is more than 3/s inch long,
\\.it11 short tub and 5 .rusty-brown hairy lobes;
the 5 nearly equal, stalked. rounded petals S/s-sj
inch long have wavy, finely toothed margins and
?'
F
f
Peltophorum inerme (Roxb.) Naves*
are bright yellow with a brown hairy stripe on
outside; 10 stamens with orange anthers and Haments
brown hairy at base; and pistil with a hairy
1-celled ovary, slender style, and broad flat stigma.
The oblong pods are short-pointed at both ends,
wing-margined, with 14 flat seeds (5,600 to a
pound), and do not split open. Flowering from
s ring to fall (April to September) and fruiting
c 7 liefly in the winter.
The sapwood is whitish and hard. To the present
the mood isused locally only for fuel.
Grown for the ornamental flowers and attractive
reddish fruits and as a street or shade tree in the
larger cities in Puerto Rico and also in St. Thomas.
Though a fairly new introduction, this species is
increasing in opularity md being planted more
extensively+-&s ropagated f mm seed and grows
rapidly. The flogers attract bees. The trees are
reported to be\ &nllow rooted and subject to damage
by strong winds.
R~Nc~.-Native in Ce Ion, southern India,
Mnlnyq East Indies, phiHppines, and northern
Australia. Widely cultivated through the tropics
though apparently not yet introduced in many
parts of the New World. Recorded as planted in
southern Florida., Puerto Rico and St. Thomas,
Guadeloupe, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala,
Panama, Venezuela, and British Guiana.
OTHER COMMON NAB~EG.-Y~~~OW flamboyant,
yellow poinciana (English) ; peltophorum, zapatero
(Trinidad) ; palissandre (Guadeloupe) .
BOTANICAL s~~o~m~.-~aesdp~nia femugima
Decne., 0. inermis Roxb., Peltophorum ferrugineurn
(Decne.) Benth., P. roxburghii (G. Don)
Ilcgener.