Flamboyant vermelho em frente à Praça do Buriti, em Brasília-DF, Brasil.
Red Flamboyant in front of the Buriti´s Square, in Brasília-DF, Brazil.
Following, a text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia:
Delonix regia or Flamboyant
Delonix regia is a species of flowering plant from the Fabaceae family, Caesalpinioideae subfamilia, noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of flowers. In many tropical parts of countries around the world it is grown as an ornamental tree and in English it is given the name Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant. It is also one of several trees known as Flame tree.
In India it is known as Gulmohar (Hindi and Urdu -‘Gul’ means ‘Flower’ and ‘Mohr’ is 'Peacock', thus the name suggests a spectacular show of color, like the extraordinary colors of a peacock's tail[1]). It is also known there as Krishnachura (Bengali: 'crown of the Lord Krishna). In Vietnamese it is known as Phượng vĩ (means "Phoenix's Tail) (Vietnamese), Malinche, and Tabachine.[2] In Guatemala, Antigua Guatemala, it is known as "Llama del Bosque".
This species was previously placed in the genus Poinciana, named for Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy, the 17th century governor of Saint Christophe (Saint Kitts), who is credited with introducing the plant to the Americas. Because it is a legume, the tree has nitrogen-fixating and soil-improving properties.
Description:
The tree's vivid red/vermilion/orange/yellow flowers and bright green foliage make it an exceptionally striking sight.
The Royal Poinciana is endemic to Madagascar, where it is found in the Madagascar dry deciduous forests. In the wild it is endangered, but it is widely cultivated elsewhere. In addition to its ornamental value, it is also a useful shade tree in tropical conditions, because it usually grows to a modest height but spreads widely, and its dense foliage provides full shade. In areas with a marked dry season, it sheds its leaves during the drought, but in other areas it is virtually evergreen.
The flowers are large, with four spreading scarlet or orange-red petals up to 8 cm long, and a fifth upright petal called the standard, which is slightly larger and spotted with yellow and white. The naturally occurring variety flavida has yellow flowers.[3] Seed pods are dark brown and can be up to 60 cm long and 5 cm wide; the individual seeds, however, are small, weighing around 0.4 g on average. The compound leaves have a feathery appearance and are a characteristic light, bright green. They are doubly pinnate: Each leaf is 30–50 cm long and has 20 to 40 pairs of primary leaflets or pinnae on it, and each of these is further divided into 10-20 pairs of secondary leaflets or pinnules.
The Royal Poinciana requires a tropical or near-tropical climate, but can tolerate drought and salty conditions. It is very widely grown in the Caribbean, Africa, Northern Australia (as far south as South east Queensland, although in sheltered micro climates it can be successfully grown in some areas of Sydney), Hong Kong, the Canary Islands, Cyprus, Thailand, Taiwan and southern China, and is also the city tree of Tainan, Taiwan and Xiamen, Fujian Province, and People's Republic of China. National Cheng Kung University, a university located in Tainan, put Royal Poinciana on its emblem. It also grows throughout southern Brazil, with ornamental trees in Rio Grande do Sul (Canoas and Porto Alegre).[4]
In the United States, it grows only in South Florida, Southwest Florida, the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, ranging from the low deserts of Southern Arizona (to as high as Tucson), Southern California, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, where it is the official tree of the islands. It is much loved in the Caribbean; for example, many Puerto Rican paintings feature Flamboyant Trees, it can also be found in The Bahamas as well. The Poinciana is also the national flower of St. Kitts and Nevis.
The Royal Poinciana is regarded as naturalised in many of the locations where it is grown, and is seen by some as an invasive species in some parts of Australia, partly because its dense shade and root system prevent the growth of other species under it. Although it is a very popular street plant in a lot of suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. It is also found in India and Pakistan, where it is referred to as the Gulmohar, or Gul Mohr.[5] In West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh it is called Krishnachura.
In Puerto Rico, a town located about 12 miles away from Ponce, has been nicknamed "The Valley of the Flames" or "El Valle de los Flamboyanes", known as the town Penuelas. The people from this town are known as "Penolanos". The Flamboyant trees are spread around the surrounding Guyanes, Macana, and Tallaboa Rivers.
In Vietnam, this tree is called "Phượng vỹ", or phoenix's tail, and is a popular urban tree in much of Vietnam. Its flowering season is May - July, which coincides with the end of the school year in Vietnam. Because of this timing, the flower of Poinciana is sometimes called the "flower of pupil", and often generates strong emotions among graduating high school pupils, as the Poinciana bloom when they are about to leave their school and their childhood behind. Hai Phong city has a nickname of "City of red Poinciana" or "Thành phố hoa phượng đỏ".
The seed pods of the Royal Poincianas are used in the Caribbean as a percussion instrument known as the shak-shak or maraca.
Flowering season:
South Florida: May–June
Vietnam: May–July
Caribbean: May–September
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh: April–June
Australia: December–February
Northern Mariana Islands: March–June
United Arab Emirates: April–June
Philippines: April–June
Brazil: November–February
Southern Sudan: March–May
Thailand: April–May
Zimbabwe: October–December
A seguir, um texto, em Português, da Wikipédia, a Enciclopédia livre:
Delonix regia ou Flamboyant
A Delonix regia, também conhecida por flor-do-paraíso, pau-rosa, flamboyant e acácia-rubra, é uma árvore da família das leguminosas (Fabaceae). É nativa da ilha de Madagáscar, no continente africano.
Embora esteja ameaçada de extinção no estado selvagem, é muito cultivada pelo seu valor ornamental.
Adaptou-se muito bem em toda a América tropical, sendo muito popularizada nas ilhas do Caribe. No Brasil é usada na arborização de ruas e praças.
Apesar de ser muito ornamental devido às suas belíssimas flores, seu uso na arborização urbana fica recomendado apenas a parques e grandes espaços, devido à sua altura média de 7 a 10 m e suas raízes muito superficiais e danosas, que destroem as calçadas ao seu redor. Uma boa opção é plantar o flamboyanzinho que é também bastante ornamental mas com um porte menor e sem o problema com as raízes.
Suas folhas são caducifólias, medem em média 30 a 60 cm de comprimento, são pecioladas (haste) e revestidas por pêlos finos e curtos, recompostas com foliólulos pequenos medindo de 1 a 1,5 cm de comprimento, e caducos (decíduos). A sua copa tem um formato largo (oblongo) e seu crescimento é relativamente rápido. Suas flores são majestosas e de cor vermelha-alaranjada ou amarelas. Cada flor possui 5 pétalas, sendo uma delas maior, com face superior rajada de vermelho ou laranjando sobre um fundo branco com bordas avermelhas, e 5 sépalas. A época de floração é de outubro a dezembro. O seu fruto é do tipo vagem, conhecido também como legume. De coloração castanho escuro, possui tamanho avantajado e permanece na árvore por mais de seis meses. A semente é dura, alongada, com 1,70 cm de comprimento em média (nunca mais de 2 cm), e sua coloração é castanho claro.
