Peltophorum pterocarpum (commonly known as copperpod, yellow-flamboyant, yellow flametree, yellow poinciana or yellow-flame) is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, native to tropical areas from Indo-China to northern Australia. It produces masses of golden flowers in the summer, making it a popular ornamental tree around the world. It was first described in 1825.
It is a deciduous tree growing to 15âÂÂ25 m (rarely up to 50 m) tall, with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m belonging to Family Leguminosae and sub-family Caesalpiniaceaea. The leaves are bipinnate, 30âÂÂ60 cm long, with 16âÂÂ20 pinnae, each pinna with 20âÂÂ40 oval leaflets 8âÂÂ25 mm long and 4âÂÂ10 mm broad. The flowers are yellow, 2.5âÂÂ4 cm in diameter and produced in large compound raceme up to 20 cm long. Pollens are approximately 50 microns in size.
The fruit is a pod 5âÂÂ10 cm long and 2.5 cm broad, red at first, ripening black, and containing one to four seeds. Trees begin to flower after about four years.
Peltophorum pterocarpum is native to tropical southeast Asia and northern Australasia: in Australia (including islands off the Northern Territory coast); Sri Lanka; in Southeast Asia to Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
The tree is widely grown in tropical regions as an ornamental tree, particularly in India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Florida and Hawaii in the United States. Used as decorating flower in Telangana State's Batukamma festival. The trees have been planted alternately with Delonix regia (Poinciana) in India, as a common scheme for avenue trees, giving a striking yellow and red effect in summer.
The wood has a wide variety of uses, including cabinet-making and the foliage is used as a fodder crop. The brownish colour called sogan typical of batik cloth from inland Java in Indonesia is produced from P. pterocarpum, which is known there as soga.