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Flowers of Zihuatanejo

African Tulip Tree

Spathodea campanulata

Flowers by Colour

-Plants (Kingdom Plantae)

-Vascular Plants (Phylum Tracheophyta)

-Flowering Plants (Subphylum Angiospermae)

-Dicots (Class Magnoliopsida)

-Mints, Plantains, Olives, and Allies (Order Lamiales)

-Plantain Family (Family Plantaginaceae)

-Tribe Gratioleae

-Genus Stemodia

-Purple Stemodia (Stemodia durantifolia)


Big crinkled red orange tulip like bells with red streaked gold throats and frilly yellow edges bud out of horn shaped, velvety buds on the branch tips of this spectacular tree. Once flowers are pollinated they are followed by 5 – 10 inch greenish brown finger like pods that curl up and out over the leaves. Its wood is too weak for construction use but ideal enough for boxes and toothpicks.

Description

• Spathodea campanulata, commonly known as African tulip tree or flame-of-the-forest, is a large flowering tree in the trumpet-vine family (Bignoniaceae).

• It can grow 10–25 m tall, with a broad crown and large, pinnate leaves composed of several pairs of oval leaflets.

• Its spectacular, bell-shaped flowers are bright orange-red, often with yellow margins, and grow in large terminal clusters.

• The flower buds contain watery liquid that can squirt when pressed.

• The fruit is a long, dark brown, woody capsule that splits open to release numerous flat, winged seeds.

• The tree is widely planted as an ornamental but can become invasive in some tropical regions.

Range

• Spathodea campanulata is native to tropical Africa.

• It has been introduced and cultivated throughout the tropics, including Mexico and the Zihuatanejo region of Guerrero.

Habitat

• Grows in humid tropical forests, forest margins, clearings, and disturbed areas in its native range.

• In cultivation, it thrives in warm, sunny locations with adequate moisture and well-drained soil.

• It can spread into disturbed forest and other suitable habitats in regions where it has been introduced.

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