Bernieh's Garden
Spathodea Campanulata - African Tulip Tree
Genus: Spathodea.
Species: Spathodea campanulata.
Common name: African Tulip Tree
Botanic name: Spathodea Campanulata
Family: Bignoniaceae
This spectacular tree comes from tropical central and western Africa and grows up to 10-15 metres.
It has simple pinnate compound leaves, 30-40 cm long, about 7 pairs of leaflets. Leaves are slightly hairy, shiny above.
The flowers are large, showy, and red. The flower buds form a ball-shaped cluster. Each brown banana-shaped flower bud is filled with water, forming a natural water pistol when squeezed. The outer buds bloom first before the inner ones. The tree blooms for most of the year and a flower lasts about 3 days.
The fruit is the long (20 cm) green pods, and when ripe they turn brown and split open into a woody, boat-shaped form. The pod is filled with lots of small seeds with transparent wings.
