Peltophorum pterocarpum - Meet the Plants - National Tropical Botanical Garden Plant Database

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Taxonomy:

Peltophorum pterocarpum (Fabaceae)

Synonyms:
Peltophorum pterocarpa
Peltophorum inermis

Peltophorum ferrugineum
Baryxylum inerme

Common Names:
Yellow Poinciana
Copperpod
Golden Flamboyant
Yellow Flamboyant
Yellow Flame Tree

Classification:

Peltophorum pterocarpa (DC.) Backer ex K. Heyne
Kingdom: Plantae-Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta-Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta-Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta-Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida-Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae - Pea family
Genus: Peltophorum (T. Vogel) Benth. - Peltophorum
Species: Peltophorum pterocarpa(DC.)Backer ex K. Heyne - Yellow Poinciana
(National Plant Database. 2004.)
(Smith, A. C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: A new flora of Fiji. Lawai, Kauai, Hawai'i. NTBG.)

Description:

Yellow Poinciana is a very showy flowering tree up to 50' tall, with wide-spreading branches that form an umbrella-like crown up to 25' across.

The stems and twigs are rusty-red tomentose. The leaves are bipinnate (twice compound), about 2' long with 8-20 pairs of 3/4"-long oblong leaflets. The fragrant flowers are clustered on upright stems about 18" long. Each flower is about an inch and a half across with translucent yellow, crinkled petals. The flowers have conspicuous orange stamens and each petal has a reddish brown mark in the center. They are followed by purplish brown, flattened, oblong seed pods, 3-4" long, which remain on the tree until the next flowering season.
(Smith, A. C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: A new flora of Fiji. Lawai, Kauai, Hawai'i. NTBG.)

Geographic Distribution:

Yellow Poinciana is native to coastal areas from Sri Lanka through the Malay archipelago and Indonesia to northern Australia.

(Smith, A. C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: A new flora of Fiji. Lawai, Kauai, Hawai'i. NTBG.)

Status:

Naturalized in the tropics Yellow Poinciana has escaped from cultivation and established itself in disturbed areas in southern Florida.

In Hawai'i, it appears to be in the early stages of naturalization in Nahiku on the road to Hana, Maui.
(Smith, A. C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: A new flora of Fiji. Lawai, Kauai, Hawai'i. NTBG.)
(Starr, F., K. Martz and L.L. Loope. 2002. New Plant Records from the Hawaiian Archipelago.)

Native Legends and Names:

The name "Poinciana" is used for three other showy subtropical trees or shrubs in the bean family: Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia), also called Flame Tree or Flamboyant Tree, Dwarf Poinciana (Caesalpinia pulcherrima), also called Barbados Pride or Peacock Flower and another dwarf Poinciana (Caesalpinia gilliesii), also called Bird-of-Paradise bush.

(Smith, A. C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: A new flora of Fiji. Lawai, Kauai, Hawai'i. NTBG.)

Indigenous Practices:

Because of the dazzling beauty of its flowers Yellow Poincianas are usually planted as specimen trees or as shade trees.

The dark green, delicate, feathery leaflets provide a softening effect for the tree’s large size and create a welcoming, dappled shade. Hence, they are used as street trees in tropical cities, and commonly planted for shade in tropical and subtropical gardens.
(Smith, A. C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: A new flora of Fiji. Lawai, Kauai, Hawai'i. NTBG.)

(Information for this species compiled and recorded by Camelia Cirnaru, NTBG Consultant.)

NTBG Herbarium Data:

Click to view an example from our herbarium

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