Published On:Tuesday, August 17, 2010

By Gardener Jack

WHENEVER we come across something new the initial response is to liken it to something we already know.

The pineapple, for instance, was so named when first encountered in the Caribbean by Europeans because of its pine cone-like shape and apple-like flavour.

There are many tropical fruits called plums and cherries.

Many of these would have been named initially by Europeans with larger drupes being called plums and smaller ones cherries, often with the name of the place they were discovered - Surinam, Barbados, etc.

If a European tourist in the Bahamas were to order stewed turbot he would be surprised for two reasons: The gravy-like matrix, and the completely different fish from what he expected.

When it comes to plants there are many common names that are completely misleading.

One of the prime examples is yellow poinciana, taken by most people to mean Peltophorum, and by others to mean a yellow flowering version of Delonix regia, royal poinciana.

Peltophorum pterocarpum is a distant relative of royal poinciana but is so different that one wonders how on earth the name stuck. There is no way Peltophorum could be confused with royal poinciana, even on the most cursory of glances.

Both have pinnate compound leaves but those of Peltophorum are significantly larger and more rounded.

The flowers of Peltophorum are held well above the foliage in panicles while royal poinciana flowers are produced along the length of branches.

Peltophorum flowers are much smaller than those of royal poinciana. Peltophorum grows very upright while royal poinciana has a distinct spreading habit.

This upright form has made Peltophorum a very popular avenue tree and it is used to very good effect in the parking lot of New Visions, a church in Marsh Harbour, Abaco.

Although the flowers eventually drop, the leaves remain year-round and the tree is therefore nowhere near as messy as its distant relative.

Peltophorum is at its showiest best during August and September. When the flowers drop the show is not over because they are replaced by attractive coppery four-inch long seedpods.

The pods eventually darken and that is a clear sign that summer is over and autumn is setting in.

If you want to grow Peltophorum in your own yard and do not have acres of parkland it would be wise to plant it towards the edge of the property.

One characteristic Peltophorum shares with royal poinciana is an aggressive root system that can totally undo the foundations of small structures.

Peltophorum originated in Sri Lanka/Malaysia/North Australia and can now be found in most tropical and subtropical areas of the world. It grows well in just about any kind of soil but is not very salt tolerant.

I visited three Cuban cities in July and Peltophorum was by far the most predominant avenue tree.

As might be expected, the trees were a little further along and many were bearing copper pods.

You will notice that in this article I quickly moved from the common name yellow poinciana to the scientific name Peltophorum pterocarpum.

This binomial nomenclature was developed by a Swedish naturalist, Carolus Linnaeus, who worked out taxonomic tables for animals, vegetables and minerals, published in 1735.

Whenever there could be confusion over the identification of a certain plant it is wise to use the scientific name.

(For more information or questions please e-mail gardenerjack @coralwave.com)