Spathodea

Plant Characteristics

Origin:	✈	?

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	?"?" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water:	◍	?"?" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.

Scientific Names

Read about Spathodea in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Spathodea (Greek, spathe-like, referring to the shape of the calyx). Bignoniaceae. Two or 3 evergreen trees native of Trop. Afr. with large odd-pinnate opposite or sometimes ternate lvs., the lfts. entire, and with large fls. in terminal panicles or racemes: calyx large, split on one side and recurved, exposing the corolla to the base; corolla large, broadly campanulate and ventricose; stamens 4, exserted but shorter than the corolla, with spreading and pendulous anther-cells; disk large, cup-shaped; ovary oblong, with the ovules in several rows: caps. oblong-lanceolate, acuminate at the ends, loculicidal with woody valves; seeds elliptic, broadly winged.—The spathodeas are handsome evergreen trees with large pinnate foliage and large and very showy orange-red or scarlet fls. They can be grown only in subtropical or tropical countries and demand rich and well-drained soil with sufficient moisture during the growing period; they are rarely grown in greenhouses, as they need much space and do not bloom until they have attained a large size. Prop. is by seeds or by cuttings. See also Radermachia for cult. S. laevis, Beauv., is now referred to Newbouldia which differs from Spathodea chiefly in the shape of the calyx which incloses the base of the corolla and is split on one side and 2-lobed at the apex, and in its funnelform-campanulate corolla, the inclosed stamens with parallel anther-cells: caps. elongated-linear with leathery valves; seeds with the wing emarginate on one side. N. laevis, Seem. (Spathodea speciosa, Brongn.). Shrub or tree, to 40 ft., nearly glabrous: lvs, opposite or ternate, 1-2 ft. long; lfts. 7-13, ovate-oblong, obtusely acuminate, serrate, glabrous or nearly so, 3-8 in. long: fls. white with purple spots or pink or purple, in dense terminal panicles; calyx oblong, 2-lobed at the apex, 3/4 – 1 in. long; corolla 2-2 1/4 in. long, limb slightly 2-lipped with spatulate-obovate lobes. Trop. W. Afr. B.M. 4537. J.F. 1:51. F.S. 6:634, H.U. 5:357. The bark has medicinal properties.—S. pentandra, Hook. (B.M. 3681), is apparently a form of N. laevis with 6-lobed pale purple corolla and 5 stamens.—S. speciosa, Brongn. –Newbouldia laevis. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Spathodea. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Spathodea QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)