Peltophorum pterocarpum (Golden Flamboyante)

Peltophorum pterocarpum (Golden Flamboyante) yellow flower clusters among green foliage on branch

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Peltophorum pterocarpum

Botanical names: Peltophorum pterocarpum, Caesalpinia ferruginea, Caesalpinia inermis, Inga pterocarpum

Common names: Golden Flamboyante, Yellow Flame Tree, Yellow Poinciana, Copper pod tree, Copperpod

Family: Fabaceae

Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae

Origin: India and South East Asia

USDA Zone: 9-11

Cold tolerance: 30°F

Plant type: Fruit

Fruit type: Ice cream bean

Plant form: Small tree

Mature height: 10-20 ft

Sun exposure: Full sun or bright light indoor

Cold tolerance: Frost sensitive. Protect from freezing.

Watering: Moderate

Flower color: Yellow, orange

Suitable for: Outdoors in the suitable USDA zone; small gardens, containers, and indoor growing

Wildlife: Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds

Ethnomedical: Ethnomedical plant, traditionally used in folk or indigenous medicine

Upright, semi - evergreen tree. It has dark green leathery leaflets, fragrant, yellow flowers and alongated seedpod. Shade tree on streets and roadsides or cover for cash crops in the humid tropics. Also grown as an ornamental. Sap wood soft and light, not durable and of little use, heartwood red, hard and strong. Good for carpentry, construction and cartwright's work. Bark contains tannins, giving a light yellow color to leather, tannins also present in leaves and wood. Medicinal uses: bark for dysentry, tooth powder, eye lotion, embrocation for pains and sores; the bark gives a dye of a yellow color. Can be used as a shade - or specimen tree.

USDA hardiness zone 10b. It is a fast-growing tree. Temperatures in the high 20's cause the leaves to drop but these are quickly replaced. Young trees flower in 2-3 years from seed.