Poinciana regia Bojer, Bot. Mag. 56: t. 2884. 1829.

Trees, deciduous, large, to 20 m tall. Bark grayish brown, rough; crown hemispherical. Branches numerous, spreading; branchlets puberulent, with conspicuous lenticels. Leaves 20-60 cm; stipules in lower part conspicuously pinnatipartite, in upper part setiform; petiole 7-12 cm, glabrous to puberulent, sulcate, inflated at base; petiolules short; pinnae opposite, 15-20 pairs, 5-10 cm; leaflets 25 pairs, crowded, opposite, oblong, 4-8 × 3-4 mm, midvein conspicuous, both surfaces silky, base oblique, margin entire, apex obtuse. Corymbose racemes termi­nal or axillary. Flowers bright red to orange-red, 7-10 cm in diam.; pedicels 4-10 cm. Receptacle discoid or shortly turbi­nate. Sepals reddish inside, margin greenish yellow. Petals re­flexed after anthesis, red, tinged with yellow and white spotted, spatulate, 5-7 × 3.7-4 cm; claw long, ca. 2 mm, slender. Sta­mens curved upward, red, unequal in length, 3-6 cm; filaments thick, woolly in lower part; anthers red, ca. 5 mm. Ovary ca. 1.3 cm; stigma small. Legume dark reddish brown, blackish brown when mature, slightly curved, 30-60 × 3.5-5 cm, apex with persistent style. Seeds 20-40, yellowish tinged with brown spots, ca. 15 × 7 mm, smooth, hard. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Aug-Oct.

This species is widely cultivated in botanical gardens and city parks in S China as an ornamental tree. The resin is soluble in water. The wood is light, soft, and springy, with a special grain, and is used for craft materials.

Cultivated in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan, Yunnan [na­tive to Madagascar; often cultivated in the tropics].