Tecoma stans (L.) Juss. ex Kunth

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.

  • Family

    Bignoniaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Tecoma stans (L.) Juss. ex Kunth

  • Description

    Deprecated: mb_convert_encoding(): Handling HTML entities via mbstring is deprecated; use htmlspecialchars, htmlentities, or mb_encode_numericentity/mb_decode_numericentity instead in /home/emu/nybgweb/www-dev/htdocs/science-dev/wp-content/themes/nybgscience/lib/VHMonographsDetails.php on line 179

    Species Description - Shrub or small tree to 7 m tall. Leaves 3-9-foliolate; leaflets 2.5-15 x 0.8-6 cm, gradually larger toward the distal end; lanceolate, membranous to chartaceous, glabrous except for a few hairs on lower surface along veins and vein angles, the apex longacuminate, the base cuneate, the margins serrate; petioles 4.5-7 cm long, furrowed at upper surface. Flowers in terminal racemes; calyx bell-shaped, green, 3-7 mm long; corolla yellow, 4-5 cm long, zygomorphic, funnel-shaped, the tube very narrow at base, gradually opening toward the throat, with 2 longitudinal folds along the lower side, the lobes rounded, one of them projecting to the front. Capsule pendent, linear, 7-21 x 5-8 cm long, flattened (nearly cylindrical when fresh), smooth, tapering toward both ends. Seeds thin, elliptic to heart-shaped 5-7 x 4-5 mm long, the wings whitish, oblong, 6-7 mm long.

    Distribution and Ecology - Commonly cultivated in St. John, becoming naturalized. Johnson Bay (A2125). Also on Jost van Dyke, St. Croix, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda; native to the neotropics but widespread throughout the tropics through cultivation.

  • Discussion

    Common names: catapult tree, ginger thomas, yellow cedar. Note: This is the official flower of the U.S. Virgin Islands