Pretty in pink, their show has begun!
Tabebuia rosea
- Common/English name: Tabebuia
- Family: Bignoniaceae (The Jacaranda family)
- (Sinhala & Tamil: No names known)
This is an ornamental tree, planted along roadsides in urban areas. This deciduous tree is about 20 m tall, with branches which originate very low on the trunk and, most often, extend upwards more or less vertically. The bark is smooth and dark. The foliage is somewhat sparse.
The leaves are compound, and the leaflets are dark olive green, oval-shaped, tapering at both ends. About five leaflets are connected to a central spot, like fingers are connected to wrists. During the flowering season, almost all the leaves drop.
Showy flowers, about 7 cm in diameter have soft, pale pink to mauve petals, crinkled at the edges. Tabebuia trees flower spectacularly and profusely between February and April, so that the trees appear to be masses of pale pink or mauve. The flowers fall off in a few days forming a carpet under the trees.
This tree is native to the region from Mexico through Central America to Venezuela and Ecuador. It is the national tree of Ecuador.
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’
by Sriyanie Miththapala, Janaki Galappatti, and Siril Wijesundara (2015). The National Trust: Colombo.
Pic by Sriyanie Miththapala
During the flowering season, this tree is unmistakable for its profusion of pink/mauve flowers that cover the tree.
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