57
Delonix
regia (Hook.) Rafin.
Synonym : Poinciana regia Hook.
Family
: Caesalpinioideae
Local Names
: Poomaram, Gulmohar, Royal Poinciana,
Flame tree
Flowering
and fruiting period:
February – July
Distribution: Native of
Madagascar; now cultivated throughout the tropics
Habitat: Planted as
ornamental tree
IUCN
status:
Least concern
Endemic: No
Uses: Ornamental. A leaf
decoction presumably has anti-rheumatic effects. In eastern Nigeria the leaves
are used traditionally for treating pain.
Key
Characters:
Gulmohar are trees with leaves bi-pinnate, alternate; rachis, pulvinate; pinnae
8-20 pairs, opposite; leaflet lamina oblong, margin entire. Flowers bisexual,
crimson, in terminal or lateral corymbose panicles; calyx tube very short;
lobes 5, valvate; petals 5, imbricate; margins fimbriate; upper petal
dissimilar and white streaked with red and yellow; stamens 10, free; ovary half
inferior , ovules many; style filiform; stigma truncate. Fruit a pod, woody.
