Digital Garden

Delonix regia

Gulmohar

Scientific name- Delonix regia 

Common name- Flamboyant, phoenix flower, flame of the forest, flame tree, royal poinciana 

Family- Fabaceae

Habit type- Tree  

Geographical Distribution and features- known as flamboyant or royal poinciana, is a tropical tree native to Madagascar that has been widely planted in tropical and semi-tropical areas around the world. This tree is well-known for its stunning ornamental display of showy scarlet flowers and compound mimosa-like leaves. It can be grown outdoors in the far southern states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California, as well as Hawaii, in the United States as well as in many nations. This tree is deciduous in dry climates or mildly cool winters, but otherwise, it is evergreen.

Leaves : Leaves biparipinnate, alternate, light green, feathery, 20-60 cm long; 1025 pairs of pinnae, 5-12 cm long, each bearing 12-40 pairs of small oblong-obtuse leaflets that are about 0.5-2 cm long and 0.3 cm wide; petiole stout. The numerous leaflets are stalkless, rounded at the base and apex, entire thin, very minutely hairy on both sides, green on the upper surface. At the base of the leaf stalk, there are 2 compressed stipules that have long, narrow, comblike teeth.

Flowers : It has large scarlet flowers that stand out against the green leafy background. Delonix regia flowers appear in an inflorescence, with the older flowers at the base and the younger ones at the tip of the flower stalk.  The flower has five sepals, each of which is green on the outside and scarlet on the inside.

Different Usage: 

Ornamental:   Delonix regia is an excellent flowering tree for gardens, parks, along streets, and large front yards. It is mainly valued as a decorative tree. 

Medicinal: The plant is used to treat a variety of physical conditions in ancient and folk medicine, including constipation, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation, diabetes, malaria, and pneumonia. The leaves are typically the richest source of the majority of the medicinal valued compounds, the plant's leaves, flowers, seed, and bark all contain a variety of medicinally active chemicals. Flavonoids, alkaloids, lupeol, sterols, beta-sitosterol, tannins, carotenoids, and phenolic acids are the active ingredients. It has been demonstrated that triterpenes and flavonoids have analgesic properties. Flavonoids are also potent antioxidants.

Agroforestry: The tree is planted to provide shade in tea plantations, compounds etc. The tree can be planted as live fence posts. It is grown on eroded sites for erosion control, and for soil rehabilitation and improvement through atmospheric nitrogen fixation. As this plant also aid in the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen.

Commercial: Fuel is made from the wood of the Delonix regia plant. The calorific value of this wood is 4600 kcal/kg. Delonix regia flowers are used to feed bees in bee farming. Thick, water-soluble gum is produced by this plant. The textile and furniture industries use this natural gum as a binding agent. The seeds provide us with pangam oil, which is quite beneficial to the tanning sector. The long, hard seeds of the Delonix regia plant are commonly used to make jewelry beads. The Delonix regia plant’s hard and elongated seeds are frequently used as beads in jewellery.