Tecoma stans

Last updated

Tecoma stans
Tecoma Stans (Yellow Elder) (28863456756).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Bignoniaceae
Genus: Tecoma
Species:
T. stans
Binomial name
Tecoma stans
(L.) Juss. ex Kunth
Synonyms [2]
  • Bignonia frutescens Mill. Synonym
  • Bignonia incisa DC. [Invalid] Synonym
  • Bignonia sorbifolia Salisb. Synonym
  • Bignonia stans L. Synonym
  • Bignonia tecoma Wehmer Synonym
  • Bignonia tecomoides DC. Synonym
  • Gelseminum stans (L.) Kuntze Synonym
  • Stenolobium incisum Rose & Standl. Synonym
  • Stenolobium quinquejugum Loes. Synonym
  • Stenolobium stans (L.) Seem. Synonym
  • Stenolobium stans var. apiifolium (DC.) Seem. Synonym
  • Stenolobium stans var. multijugum R.E.Fr. Synonym
  • Stenolobium stans var. pinnatum Seem. Synonym
  • Stenolobium tronadora Loes. Synonym
  • Tecoma incisa (Rose & Standl.) I.M.Johnst. Synonym
  • Tecoma molle Kunth Synonym
  • Tecoma stans var. angustatum Rehder Synonym
  • Tecoma stans var. apiifolia DC. Synonym
  • Tecoma stans var. stans Synonym
  • Tecoma tronadora (Loes.) I.M.Johnst. Synonym
  • Tecoma velutina Lindl. Synonym

Tecoma stans is a species of flowering perennial shrub in the trumpet vine family, Bignoniaceae, that is native to the Americas. Common names include yellow trumpetbush, [3] yellow bells, [3] yellow elder, [3] ginger Thomas. [4] Tecoma stans is the official flower of the United States Virgin Islands and the floral emblem of The Bahamas.

Contents

Description

Tecoma stans is a semi-evergreen shrub or small tree, growing up to 10 m (30 ft) tall. [1] It features opposite odd-pinnate green leaves, with 3 to 13 serrate, 8- to 10-cm-long leaflets. The leaflets, glabrous on both sides, have a lanceolate blade 2–10 cm long and 1–4 cm wide, with a long acuminate apex and a wedge-shaped base.

The large, showy, golden yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers are in clusters at the ends of branches. The corolla of the flower is bell- to funnel-shaped, five-lobed (weakly two-lipped), often reddish-veined in the throat and is 3.5 to 8.5 cm long. Flowering takes place all year round. The fruits, narrow capsules, arise from two carpels and are up to 25 cm long. A fruit contains many yellow seeds with membranopus wings; when the fruit opens upon ripening, these seed are spread by the wind (anemochory). The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. [5] Apart from sexually by seed, Tecoma stans can also be reproduced asexually by stem cuttings.

Habitat

Tecoma stans is native to the Americas. It extends from the southern United States through Mexico, Central America, and the Antilles to northern Venezuela, and through the Andes mountain range to northern Argentina. It was introduced in southern Africa, India, and Hawaii.

Yellow trumpetbush is a ruderal species, readily colonizing disturbed, rocky, sandy, and cleared land and occasionally becoming an invasive weed. It thrives in a wide variety of ecosystems, from high altitude temperate forests and tropical deciduous and evergreen forests, to xerophilous scrub and the intertropical littoral. It quickly colonizes disturbed, rocky, sandy, and cleared fields. The species prefers dry and sunny regions of the coast.

Cultivation

Flowers Yellow trumpetbush -- Tecoma stans.jpg
Flowers

Tecoma stans is drought-tolerant and grows well in warm climates. It is cultivated as an ornamental. They are grown in many parts of the world for their beautiful flowering, to adorn streets and gardens. It can be easily propagated by stem cuttings.

Uses

The wood of Tecoma stans is used in rustic architecture like bahareque, for the construction of furniture and canoes, or as firewood or charcoal. It is a medicinal plant used against diabetes and against diseases of the digestive system, among other uses. The plant is desirable fodder when it grows in fields grazed by livestock.

It is a very potent anti-venom against cobra venom, used by Pakistani old medicine. It is proved to be better than antiserum, the paste of this plant's leaves are applied topically on the cobra bite. Its bio-chemicals bind with the cobra venom enzymes thus effectively inhibiting the venom. [6]

Invasiveness

Tecoma stans has invasive potential and occasionally becomes a weed. The species is considered invasive in Africa (especially South Africa), South America, Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. It now presents a significant danger for biodiversity. It competes with local species and can form thick, almost monospecific thickets.

Related Research Articles

<i>Campsis radicans</i> Species of vine

Campsis radicans, the trumpet vine, yellow trumpet vine, or trumpet creeper, is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae, native to eastern North America, and naturalized elsewhere. Growing to 10 metres, it is a vigorous, deciduous woody vine, notable for its showy trumpet-shaped flowers. It inhabits woodlands and riverbanks, and is also a popular garden plant.

<i>Koelreuteria paniculata</i> Species of flowering plant

Koelreuteria paniculata is a species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to eastern Asia. It was introduced in Europe in 1747, and to America in 1763, and has become a popular landscape tree worldwide. Common names include goldenrain tree, pride of India, China tree, and the varnish tree.

<i>Spathodea</i> Genus of trees

Spathodea is a genus in the plant family Bignoniaceae. The single species it contains, Spathodea campanulata, is commonly known as the African tulip tree. The tree grows between 7–25 m (23–82 ft) tall and is native to tropical dry forests of Africa. It has been nominated as among 100 of the "World's Worst" invaders.

<i>Aralia spinosa</i> Species of tree

Aralia spinosa, commonly known as devil's walking stick, is a woody species of plant in the genus Aralia, family Araliaceae, native to eastern North America. The various names refer to the viciously sharp, spiny stems, petioles, and even leaf midribs. It has also been known as Angelica-tree.

<i>Cassia fistula</i> Species of plant

Cassia fistula, also known as golden shower, purging cassia, Indian laburnum, Kani Konna, or pudding-pipe tree, is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. The species is native to the Indian subcontinent and adjacent regions of Southeast Asia. It is the official state flower of Kerala state in India. It is also a popular ornamental plant and is also used in herbal medicine.

<i>Parkinsonia aculeata</i> Species of legume

Parkinsonia aculeata is a species of perennial flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. Common names include palo verde, Mexican palo verde, Parkinsonia, Jerusalem thorn, jelly bean tree, palo de rayo, and retama.

<i>Aesculus flava</i> Species of tree

Aesculus flava, also known commonly as the common buckeye, the sweet buckeye, and the yellow buckeye, is a species of deciduous tree in the subfamily Hippocastanoideae of the family Sapindaceae. The species is native to the Ohio Valley and Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States. It grows in mesophytic forest or floodplains, generally in acid to circumneutral soil, reaching a height of 20m to 48m.

<i>Genista monspessulana</i> Species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae

Genista monspessulana, commonly known as French broom, Montpellier broom, or Cape broom (Australia), is a woody leguminous perennial shrub. The yellow-flowering bush is native to the Mediterranean region, and while it may still be commonly sold in some garden stores, it is considered an invasive plant in most places where it has been introduced. It is a noxious weed on the western coast of the US and in parts of Australia.

<i>Annona glabra</i> Tropical fruit tree

Annona glabra is a tropical fruit tree in the family Annonaceae, in the same genus as the soursop and cherimoya. Common names include pond apple, alligator apple, swamp apple, corkwood, bobwood, and monkey apple. The tree is native to Florida in the United States, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and West Africa. It is common in the Everglades. The A. glabra tree is considered an invasive species in Sri Lanka and Australia. It grows in swamps, is tolerant of saltwater, and cannot grow in dry soil.

<i>Caesalpinia pulcherrima</i> Species of plant

Caesalpinia pulcherrima is a species of flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae, native to the tropics and subtropics of the Americas. It could be native to the West Indies, but its exact origin is unknown due to widespread cultivation. Common names for this species include poinciana, peacock flower, red bird of paradise, Mexican bird of paradise, dwarf poinciana, pride of Barbados, flos pavonis, and flamboyant-de-jardin. The Hawaiian name for this plant is ʻohai aliʻi.

<i>Cladrastis kentukea</i> Species of legume

Cladrastis kentukea, the Kentucky yellowwood or American yellowwood, is a species of Cladrastis native to the Southeastern United States, with a restricted range from western North Carolina west to eastern Oklahoma, and from southern Missouri and Indiana south to central Alabama. The tree is sometimes also called Virgilia.

<i>Fraxinus angustifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Fraxinus angustifolia, the narrow-leaved ash, is a species of Fraxinus native to Central Europe and Southern Europe, Northwest Africa, and Southwest Asia.

<i>Decaisnea</i> Genus of orchids

Decaisnea Hook.f &Thomson, known commonly as dead man's fingers, blue bean plant, or blue sausage fruit, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lardizabalaceae. It is native to eastern Asia, from China west to Nepal and south to Myanmar.

<i>Tecoma capensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Tecoma capensis, the Cape honeysuckle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae, native to southern Africa. Despite its common name, it is not closely related to the true honeysuckle.

Hypodaphnis is a monotypic genus of flowering plants of the family Lauraceae. Its only extant species, Hypodaphnis zenkeri, is native to Gabon. Although only one living species is known, fossils of some species of this genus are present in North America, especially in Northern Mexico. In most phylogenetic analysis, Hypodaphnis appears as the basal branch, the sister group of the rest of the family Lauraceae.

<i>Pluchea indica</i> Species of plant

Pluchea indica is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. Its common names include Indian camphorweed, Indian fleabane, and Indian pluchea. It is native to parts of Asia and Australia, and it is widespread in the Pacific Islands as an introduced and often invasive species.

<i>Sesbania punicea</i> Species of legume

Sesbania punicea is an ornamental shrub with reddish-orange flowers. It has deciduous leaves and grows to a height of 15 feet. This plant has a high demand for water, and thrives in swamps or wet areas. It requires a mildly acidic soil, with a pH between 6.1 and 6.5.

<i>Corokia cotoneaster</i> Species of flowering plant

Corokia cotoneaster is a flowering plant in the family Argophyllaceae was described by Étienne Fiacre Louis Raoul in 1846. This plant is commonly known as the wire-netting bush, korokio, or korokia-tarango. The word "Koriko" comes from the Māori language.

<i>Senna pendula</i> Species of legume

Senna pendula, also known as Easter Cassia, Christmas Senna, winter Senna, climbing Cassia, golden shower, pendant Senna and valamuerto, is a plant of the Fabaceae family with a shrub habit that is native to South America. It used in various parts of the world as an ornamental plant and is an environmental weed in Australia. The flowers are yellow and the name pendula means 'pendulous' or 'drooping'.

Lepisanthes multijuga is a species of flowering plant, a tropical forest fruit-tree in the lychee family, that is native to Southeast Asia.

References

  1. 1 2 Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) & IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group (2019). "Tecoma stans". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T82858855A149060597. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T82858855A149060597.en . Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  2. theplantlist.org
  3. 1 2 3 "Tecoma stans". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  4. "Plants – Buck Island Reef". National Park Service (US). Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  5. Mendonça, Luciana Baza; Anjos, Luiz dos (March 2005). "Beija-flores (Aves, Trochilidae) e seus recursos florais em uma área urbana do Sul do Brasil" [Hummingbirds (Aves, Trochilidae) and their flowers in an urban area of southern Brazil]. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia (in Portuguese). 22 (1): 51–59. doi: 10.1590/S0101-81752005000100007 .
  6. Asad, Muhammad Hassham Hassan Bin; Murtaza, Ghulam; Ubaid, Muhammad; Sajjad, Ashif; Mehmood, Rubada; Mahmood, Qaisar; Ansari, Muhammad Muzzmil; Karim, Sabiha; Mehmood, Zahid; Hussain, Izhar; Hussain, I (2014). "Naja naja karachiensis Envenomation: Biochemical Parameters for Cardiac, Liver, and Renal Damage along with Their Neutralization by Medicinal Plants". BioMed Research International. 2014: 970540. doi: 10.1155/2014/970540 . PMC   4022246 . PMID   24877153.