Spathodea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Flowers of the African Tulip Tree
|
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Spathodea campanulata P. Beauv |
Spathodea is a monotypic genus in the flowering plant family Bignoniaceae. The single species is Spathodea campanulata, known as the African tulip tree, Fountain tree, Flame-of-the-forest, or Nandi Flame. It is a tree that grows between 7-25 m tall, native to tropical Africa. This tree is planted extensively as an ornamental tree throughout the tropics and is much appreciated for its very showy reddish-orange or crimson (rarely yellow), campanulate flowers.
The wood of the tree is soft and is used by many primary hole nesting birds such as the barbets.
The flower bud is ampule shaped and contains water. These buds are often used by children who play with its ability to squirt the water. The sap sometimes stains yellow on fingers and clothes. The open flowers are cup shaped and holds rain and dew, making it attractive to many species of birds.
The generic name comes from the Greek word, σφατηε, in reference to the spathe-like calyx.
