Delonix regia --Royal Poinciana--

AKA "Flamboyant", "Peacock Flower", and "Flame Tree", and WOW does it live up to its nicknames! Famous for its dazzling display of vivid scarlet 3 - 4" wide, 5 petaled flowers in foot-long racemes in summer. Umbrella-crowned tree to 30 - 40 feet high, and spreading 60 feet. Large feathery 2 foot long leaves, and woody 2 foot long pods. Discovered in Madagascar in 1824. Flower color ranges from deep crimson through orange to a rare yellow. Very rare and endangered in its native Madagascar, now safe from extinction through naturalization elsewhere! Beautiful for the fern-like foliage alone, which gives an airy tropical appearance.