uncommon tropical

Bonsaifreak

A friend of mine (not a bonsaist) gave me this tree a couple of days ago. It is about 18 inches tall and still has a young, greenish trunk. He told me this plant was raised from seeds brought from Central America. The local name there is "arbol de fuego" (fire tree) because of the flower color.

It is pretty much obvious we are dealing with a leguminous tree. I did my own search and, as far as I can tell this possibly is a Silk Oak (Grevillea robusta). The references I found also cite the name Royal Ponciana but I don't believe they are the same species.

The third picture is from a reference I found with a picture of the flowers on a mature tree.

Does anyone have any experience with this species? I am planning on letting it grow until the bark matures a bit more before any restyling or initial training.

Thanks in advance,

Jorge

Attached Images

	arbolfuego2.jpg (56.5 KB, 123 views)
	arbolfuego3.jpg (51.3 KB, 93 views)
	arbolfuego.jpg (57.0 KB, 125 views)

__________________
"Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more."
Mark Twain

Advertisement

steez

looks very similar to what is called in these parts a "Mimosa" or Albizia julibrissin `Rosea`. They grow rampant along the roads in GA AL FLa etc.
See link.
http://www.monrovia.com/PlantInf.ns...1d?OpenDocument

Attached Images

mimosa.jpg (5.2 KB, 54 views)

__________________
Steve

saint

The foliage in the flower picture is different from the plant in the other two. It looks very much like a royal ponciana (delonix regia) but there are many posibilities in this area.

__________________
Best Regards,

Leslie St. John
Barbados
West Indies


Remember: Opinions are like bellybuttons, everyone's got one

agraham

Jorge,

The first two pictures look like a royal poincianna, also called i believe flamboyan.I am not familiar with the other tree at all..though the flowers are quite beautiful.

andy

__________________
http://pittmandavis.com/

LinK

The tree name is not "fire tree" is "flame tree", and is a Delonix regia, a very common tropical tree. Native from Madgascar, is a very nice tree, the flowers are red intense (tha's why is called flame tree) also, some other species have blue, yellow and orange flowers. I'm airlayering one.

Bonsaifreak

Thanks for the info Link!

Are they "bonsaiable"?

Jorge

__________________
"Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more."
Mark Twain

LinK

Sure it bonsaible.

shibu

The third photo is definitely the flowers of Grevillea robusta, which is an Australian native. The other two certainly appear to be of Delonix regia.

It is possible to style them as bonsai. There's one at Brisbane Bonsai Nursery, in Australia. It's about 4 feet tall and styled in bunjin, or literati style, because of limitations imposed by the the massive size of the compound leaves (each about 15in long)

FlyBri

Gday Jorge et al!

Yet another vote for Grevillea robusta here (pic 3) - they should germinate readily from seed sown in Autumn, and are fast growers. There are lots growing in my neighbourhood, and they're in flower as we speak - makes me think I might collect some seed this year... And Shibu is correct about the limitations of those compound leaves.

Thanks.

FlyBri.

__________________
Australian Native Plants as Bonsai Study Group
ANPB Galleries
---
rrr.org.au - Support Free-Range Radio