The tree that puts on a blazing red show when the weather turns hot
In bloom, this tree is unmistakable, as it looks as if the tree is a blaze of red. When not in bloom, the flattened canopy and feathery leaves are characteristic of this tree.
Delonix regia
Common/ English name:
Flamboyant
Family: Fabaceae (The bean family)
(Sinhala name: Mai mara; Tamil name:
Mayaram/ Neruppu vahai)
This is a common, decorative tree. It is grown mainly for its beauty along roadsides. Many of these trees were lost when Baseline Road was widened several decades ago. This tree was introduced in the mid-nineteenth century from Madagascar. It is sometimes mistakenly called ‘The Flame of the Forest’, which is another species. The top of the tree crown is characteristically flat.
The flowers are highly showy, with bunches of flowers ranging from orange to scarlet and vermillion red. Four of the five petals are orange or red, and one is white with red spots. The parts that enclose and protect the unopened bud are red on the inside and green on the outside. These trees flower profusely during the hottest time of the year.
The leaves are divided into feathery, light, bright green leaflets, each of which overlaps the succeeding leaflet. The leaves can hardly be seen when the tree is in full bloom. Fruits are long (about 30 cm), flat, dark-brown pods that remain on the tree long after the flowers and most of the leaves have fallen.
Extracted from ‘What tree is that? The Ruk Rakaganno Layperson’s Guide to Some Trees of Sri Lanka’. Updated by the author using ‘Grown in
Sri Lanka: cultivated flowering
plants’ (2015) by Sriyanie Miththapala, Janaki Galappatti and Siril Wijesundara (2011). National Trust: Colombo.
Photograph © Author
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