Description from
Flora of China
Poinciana pulcherrima Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 380. 1753.
Shrubs or small trees. Branches green or farinose-green, smooth, with scattered, sparse prickles. Leaves 12-26 cm; pinnae 4-8 pairs, opposite, 6-12 cm; petiolules short; leaflets 7-11 pairs, oblong or obovate, 1-2 cm × 4-8 mm, base oblique, apex emarginate, sometimes acute. Racemes subcorymbose, terminal or axillary, lax, to 25 cm. Pedicels unequal in length, 4.5-7 cm. Receptacle concave to turbinate, glabrous. Sepals 5, glabrous, lowest one ca. 1.4 cm, others ca. 1 cm. Petals orange-red or yellow, orbicular, 1-2.5 cm, margin wavy, with claw subequal to limb in length. Stamens very far exserted; filaments red, 5-6 cm, thick and hairy in basal part. Ovary glabrous; style orange-yellow, long, 5-6.5 mm. Legume blackish brown when ripe, oblanceolate-oblong, narrow and thin, 6-10 × 1.5-2 cm, not winged, glabrous, indehiscent, apex rounded, upper suture ending in a sharp beak. Seeds 6-9. Fl. and fr. year-round. 2n = 24, 28.
This species is a valuable ornamental of tropical regions.
Cultivated in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan [native to South America; cultivated throughout the tropics].
