flamboyant, royal poinciana, flame tree

Description:

The flamboyant, as its name implies, is famous for its commanding showy display of red or orange (or vermilion or yellow) flowers. This specimen is the tallest one I've ever seen, although they are said to reach 15-20 meters in height.The tree is also one of several species known as the "flame tree". The tree's beauty has led to a pan-tropical distribution now as they are widely cultivated, but it wasn't until the 1930s that its native habitat was found to be Madagascar, where it was discovered growing wild in dry deciduous forests. It is now endangered in the wild.

Habitat:

Growing as an ornamental/shade tree in a large semi-urban yard & garden in the equatorial tropics of northern New Guinea.

Notes:

I planted this tree from a seed in 2009. It has yet to bloom in profusion like in this spotting http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/170... NOTE: the close-up blossoms (photos 1 & 2) have fallen on to Pandanus amaryllifolius which just happens to be growing below. Other references: http://www.ntbg.org/plants/plant_details... http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/dna/organisms/det... http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sea/Pro...