Spathodea campanulata

Description: S. campanulata is widely and commonly known as the African tulip tree, and has been introduced pan-tropically for its ornamental value. However, profuse fruiting and the masses of wind-dispersed seeds means that only a few trees can begin a process of invasion, and suckering ensures that it is difficult to remove by standard cutting methods. It is 1-2 ft long opposite leaves, which emerge a bronzy color, are massed at the ends of the branches. They are composed of 5-19 deeply veined oval leaflets. The horn shaped velvety olive buds appear in upturned whorls at the branch tips. A few at a time, the buds of the lowest tier bend outward and open into big crinkled red orange tuliplike bells with red streaked gold throats, frilly yellow edges, and four brown-anthered stamens in the center. They are followed by 5-10 in green brown fingerlike pods pointing upwards and outwards above the foliage. Each of these pods contains about 500 tissue papery seeds.  It is invasive in many countries, mostly tropical islands in the Pacific, Indian and Caribbean, but also Singapore, Papua New Guinea and Australia. 

Flowering and Fruiting:  December to March.

Economic Importance: The wood is creamy-white, soft and light; it is suitable for rough carpentry, crates and shuttering. The seeds are used as food in Africa, and plant extracts are used in African traditional medicine. 

References: https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/51139