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Colvillea (after Sir Charles Colville, governor of Mauritius). Leguminosae. Showy - flowered tropical tree, a worthy rival of the royal poinciana, which is closely allied, but easily distinguished, especially by its round and full, not flat, legume.
Colvillea has drooping racemes, 1½ ft. long, densely crowded with perhaps 200 fls. of curious shape and of a splendid scarlet; the fls. open at the st. end of the pendent dense raceme, and display masses of long showy yellow stamens; the unopened fls. are about the size and shape of a filbert, and these are gradually smaller towards the end of the raceme.—Only 1 species, characterized by its large, oblique, colored calyx, having 4 segms., the standard being the smallest instead of the largest part; wings very long, narrow; erect, obovate: pod 2-valved.-Supposed to be a native of E. Afr., but discovered in 1824 by Bojer on the west coast of Madagascar, where a single tree was cult, by the natives. It flowered there in April or May. Its cult, is similar to that of cesalpinia. Prop, in the S. only by seeds. Not common in cult, outside of botanic gardens and fanciers' collections.
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