Virginia Tech Dendrology

flamboyant tree Fabaceae Delonix regia (Bojer ex Hook.) Raf. Listen to the Latin symbol: DERE
Leaf: Alternate, bipinnately compound, 12 to 24 inches long, 10 to 20 pairs of major leaflets, finely divide into 25 to 35 pairs of minor leaflets, green above and paler below.
Flower: Large (flamboyant) brilliant red-orange, occurring in numerous, huge terminal clusters at the ends of branches, each individual flower has 5 large, wide spreading petals (each 1 1/2 to 2 inches long), one petal streaked with white and yellow, appearing in early summer and continuing for months.
Fruit: A large woody legume, 14 to 20 inches long and 2 inches wide, turning reddish brown to nearly black when ripe in late summer.
Twig: Reddish brown, speckled with lighter lenticels.
Bark: Smooth and gray-brown.
Form: A wide spreading tree, with an umbrella-shaped crown reaching up to 40 feet tall and often wider.
 Looks like: jacaranda
leaf flower fruit bark form1 map
Additional Range Information: Delonix regia is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and may seed into the landscape. See states reporting flamboyant tree.
External Links: USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information
All material © 2018 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range maps courtesy USGS from USDA "Atlas of United States Trees" by Elbert L. Little, Jr., Vol. 1 (1971) 3 (1976) 4 (1977) 5 (1978)