546 



Flame Tree 



long, each bearing 2 or 3 pairs of leaflets, which are oblong, 2 to 3 mm. long, 

 blunt-pointed, oblique at the base, and glaucous. The flowers, appearing in April 

 or May, are very similar to those of C. floridum, but a trifle larger and on stouter 

 stalks. The fruit is oblong, 8 to 10 cm. long, somewhat swollen, abruptly narrowed 

 at both ends, the upper edge more or less grooved, often slightly constricted be- 

 tween the seeds, which vary from 2 to 8, and are larger and not as flat as those of 

 C. floridum. 



The wood is soft, weak, close-grained, satiny, light brown, with yellow sap- 

 wood; its specific gravity is about 0.65. It is of little use except for fuel. 



VII. FLAME TREE 



GENUS DELONIX RAFINESQUE 



Species Deloniz regia (Bojer) Rafinesque 



Poinciana regia Bojer 



HIS deciduous-leaved tree, also called Flamboyant and Royal poinciana, 

 is wide- spreading, flat-topped, and spineless. It is a native of Mada- 

 gascar, but has long been planted throughout the tropics as a favorite 

 ornamental shade tree, so that it has become naturalized in many 

 countries, and is now spontaneous in southern peninsular Florida and on the Keys. 



It is very common in the West Indies, where it at- 

 tains a maximum height of about 12 meters, with a 

 trunk diameter of 9 dm. 



The bark is thin, slightly furrowed, and gray- 

 brown. The twigs are stout, somewhat hairy, brown 

 or brown-gray, and marked by small yellowish ex- 

 crescences. The feathery leaves are without stipules, 

 equally bipinnate, 3 to 5 dm. long, including the 

 stout red or yellow stalk, which is 7 to 12 cm. in 

 length; there are 10 to 25 pairs of pinnae with a 

 hairy rachis, and 20 to 40 pairs of oblong leaflets; 

 these are 4 to 10 mm. long, rounded at each end, 

 unequal at the base, the midrib and the thickened 

 entire margin prominent, hairy on both sides and 

 short-stalked. The orange-red or bright scarlet 

 flowers are large, in ample terminal or axillary co- 



Fig. 505. — Flame Tree. 



lymbose racemes, on stout pedicels; the 5 calyx-lobes are nearly equal, longer than 

 the tube; petals spreading and reflexed, nearly orbicular, 5 to 7 cm. long, wavy or 

 crisp on the margin, tapering into a long claw, scarlet veined and spotted with 

 yellow; stamens 10, with very long exserted distinct filaments, the anthers large, 

 opening lengthwise. The fruit is a rather flattened, elongated, linear, very hard 

 woody pod, often 6 dm. long, slightly curved, gray to dark brown and rough, 

 usually solid between the transversely placed seeds, which are nearly cylindric. 



