Author: (Bojer ex Hooker) Rafinesque
Morphological description
Tree , deciduous, up to 10(-15 or more) m high; butressed (regia Delonix buttress 139526 ). Stipules pinnately 4 or 5-lobed.
Leaves: bipinnate, main rachis 50-60 cm long (regia Delonix lvs 428827); pinnae 9-20(-25) pairs, rachises up to 10 cm long. Leaflets 10-25(-40) opposite pairs per pinna, subsessile or sessile, elliptic or oblong, 5-10(-15) by 2-5 mm; rounded but mucronate at apex, slightly oblique at base; finely puberulous or glabrescent.
Inflorescences up to 15 cm long, glabrous, 5-10-flowered; pedicels 5-8 cm.
Flowers: (regia Delonix infl 431605 ;regia Delonix ov 139524)Hypanthium shortly campanulate. Sepals oblong, 4-7 by 2-2.5 mm, acuminate, reddish on inner side. Petals unequal, total length 3-7 cm long, the blade orbicular (3-4 cm wide) and narrowed into a claw (up to 3 cm long), one yellowish white and scarlet, the others scarlet. Stamens equal in length; filaments up to 4 cm, red with white base; anthers oblong, c. 4 mm long. Ovary green, slightly velutinous; style glabrous, 2.5 cm; stigma indistinct.
Pods oblong, flat, slightly curved, 30-70(-80) by 3.5-5(-7) cm, blackish, beaked (regia Delonix pod 428826 ).
Seeds narrowly oblong-elliptic, compressed, up to 2.5 by 0.8 cm (regia Delonix seeds 256061 ).
Distribution
A rare plant native of Madagascar, cultivated thoughout the tropics for the magnificent flowers (regia Delonix tree 386573).
Common names
Flamboyant, Flame tree, Royal Poinciana.