LEGUME FAMILY (LEGUMINOSAE) 



CASSIA SUBFAMILY (CAESALPINIOIDEAE; CAESALPINLACEAE) 



78. Flamboyan 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 inunerons paired small oblong leaflets i,'2-% 

 inch long and Vi-% inch broad: (2) the dense 

 coat of rusty or reddish-brown hairs on young 

 twigs, leaf axes, branches of flower clusters, and 

 flower buds; (3) nuxny showy rusty-yellow flowers 

 with 5 rounded petals, in lai-ge clusters; and (4) 

 conspicuous, broad, flat and winged pods, reddish 

 but turning to dark reddish brown, 21/0-41/2 inclies 

 long and 1-1% inches broad. 



A medium-sized to large evergreen tree 30-65 

 feet in height and li/; feet or more in trunk diam- 

 eter, graceful and with spreading branches and 

 dense foliage. Most of the trees here are not old 

 enough to liave reached large size, the maximum 

 elsewhere being about 100 feet. Bark on small 

 trees is smoothish, with dots and lines (lenticels), 

 light gi'ay, becoming brown and furrowed. The 

 inner bark is light brown and bitter. 



The alternate leaves consist of a main axis and 

 14—30 paired lateral axes (pinnae), each bearing 

 16-32 paired leaflets. Leaflets have very short 

 stalks about Vgo inch long, are rounded and slightly 

 notched at apex and rounded and oblique at base, 

 the edges not toothed, thin, the upper surface green 

 and hairless, and the lower surface paler and finely 

 hairy. 



Flower clusters (panicles) are terminal and 

 widely branched, nearly 1 foot long. The calyx 

 of the fragrant flowers is more than % inch long, 

 with short tube and 5 rusty-brown hairy lobes; 

 the 5 nearly equal, stalked, rounded petals %-% 

 inch long have wavy, finely toothed margins and 



Peltophorum inerme (Roxb.) Naves* 



are bright yellow with a brown hairy stripe on 

 outside ; 10 stamens with orange anthers and fila- 

 ments brown hairy at base; and pistil with a hairy 

 1 -celled ovary, slender style, and broad flat stigma. 



The oblong pods are slaort-pointed at both ends, 

 wing-margined, with 1^ flat seeds (5,600 to a 

 pound), and do not split open. Flowering from 

 spring to fall (April to September) and fruiting 

 chiefly in the winter. 



The sapwood is whitish and hard. To the pres- 

 ent the wood is used locally only for fuel. 



Grown for the ornamental flowers and attractive 

 reddish fi'uits 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 popularity and being planted more 

 extensively,.* 'Jtispropagated from seed and grows 

 rapidly. The flowers attract bees. The trees are 

 reported to be? shallow rooted and subject to dam- 

 age by strong winds. 



Range. — Native in Ceylon, southern India, 

 Malaya, East Indies, Philippines, 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, 

 (xuadeloupe, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala, 

 Panama, Venezuela, and British Guiana. 



Other common names. — yellow flamboyant, 

 yellow poinciana (English) ; peltophorum, zapa- 

 te.ro (Trinidad); palissandre (Guadeloupe). 



Botanical synonyms. — Caesalpinia fer-rug'mea 

 Decne., C . inennis Roxb., Peltophorum ferrugine- 

 um (Decne.) Benth., P. roxbwghii (G. Don) 

 Degener. 



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