Spathodea campanulata - Flora of Qatar

Spathodea campanulata Beauv.

Synonyms

Bignonia tulipifera, Spathodea danckelmaniana, Spathodea nilotica, Spathodea tulipifera

Common names

African tulip tree, fountain tree, Nandi flame, pichkari

Spathodea is a monotypic genus in the flowering plant family Bignoniaceae. The single species it contains, Spathodea campanulata, is commonly known as the fountain tree, African tulip tree, pichkari or Nandi flame. The tree grows between 7–25 m (23–82 ft) tall and is native to tropical dry forests of Africa. It has been nominated as among 100 of the "World's Worst" invaders.[+]

This tree is planted extensively as an ornamental tree throughout the tropics and is much appreciated for its very showy reddish-orange or crimson (rarely yellow), campanulate flowers. The generic name comes from the Ancient Greek words σπαθη (spathe) and οιδα (oida), referring to the spathe-like calyx. It was discovered in 1787 on the Gold Coast of Africa.