Tabebuia aurea

Taxobox
name = "Tabebuia aurea"

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image_width = 240px
status = G5
status_system = TNC
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Lamiales
familia = Bignoniaceae
genus = "Tabebuia"
species = "T. aurea"
binomial = "Tabebuia aurea"
binomial_authority = (Silva Manso) Benth. & Hook.f. ex S.Moore
synonyms = "Handroanthus caraiba" (Mart.) Mattos
"Tabebuia argentea" (Bureau & K. Schum.) Britt.
"Tabebuia caraiba" (Mart.) Bureau
"Tecoma argentea" Bur. & K. Sch.
"Tecoma caraiba" Mart.
"Tecoma caraiba" var. "squamellulosa" (DC.) Bur. & K. Sch.
"Tecoma squamellulosa" DC.

"Tabebuia aurea" is a species of "Tabebuia" native to South America in Suriname, Brazil, eastern Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, and northern Argentina, thus the common English name Caribbean Trumpet Tree is misleading. It is a small dry season-deciduous tree growing to 8 m tall. The leaves are palmately compound, with five or seven leaflets, each leaflet 6–18 cm long, green with silvery scales both above and below. The flowers are bright yellow, up to 6.5 cm diameter, produced several together in a loose panicle. The fruit is a slender 10 cm long capsule.Germplasm Resources Information Network: [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?402100 "Tabebuia aurea"] ] Huxley, A., ed. (1992). "New RHS Dictionary of Gardening". Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.]

It is a popular ornamental tree is subtropical and tropical regions, grown for its spectacular flower display on leafless shoots at the end of the dry season.

This species is a crucial resource for Spix's Macaw ("Cyanopsitta spixii"), which is presently extinct in the wild with less than 100 birds remaining in captivity. Any future reintroduction would have to provide sufficient "T. aurea" for nesting and other purposes - while the tree is not considered threatened on a global scale, locally it has declined due to unsustainable use for timber.

References