All the information and photos in cactus art files are now available also in the new the Encyclopaedia of Succulents. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.

This is a bottle tree in the Legume Family (Fabaceae) that grows in the dry southwest of Madagascar.
Plant which can be grown as a Bonsai .

Description: Small pachycaul tree 3 to 10 meters high with an umbrella-shaped crown.
Stem (caudex): The trunk is highly swollen, bottle-shaped up to 80 centimetres in diameter, with grey bark peeling in fragments.
Leaves: Compound, with (1-)2-3 pairs of pinnae, each pinna 14-16 opposite leaflets; leaflets narrowly oblong, glabrous matt above, paler below.
Flower: The Delonix decaryi has white, fragrant, showy flowers up to 7,5 wide with long red stamens. The 4 petals become yellowish or apricot as they age. The inflorescences are axillary racemes, combined into corymbs held above the foliage.
Fruit: Dark brown/glaucous, long, slender and compressed legumes.

 

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Scientific name:  Delonix decaryi Capuron (R. Vig.) Capuron
In: Adansonia sér. 2, 8:16. 1968

Origin:  Coastal southern and southwestern Madagascar (Toliara)

Habitat: Xerophytic shrubland and open woodland. Elevation (m): 0-500

Common Names include:

• Poinciana decaryi, R.Viguier
  Notul. Syst. (Paris) 13(4): 353 (1949).
• Delonix adansonioides, (R. Vig.) Capuron
  Adansonia sér. 2, 8:16. 1968
• Aprevalia floribunda Baill.
• Delonix floribunda (Baill.) Capuron
• Poinciana adansonioides R. Vig.)

Cultivation: Grows in any rich, very well drained, preferably stony soil with some water and lots of sun throughout the year. It is suited to greenhouse culture but does well out of doors in Mediterranean climate. It doesn't like wet winter but will survive. Water plentifully in summer but keep rather dry in winter at a minimum of about 12°C (Mature plants are tender and hardy only to 2° C for a short period; avoid in any case freezing temperatures). Exposure: light shade to full sun. For soil in full sun throughout the year.
Propagation: Propagate usually from seed that are very easy to germinate. Germination: Seeds need up to 1 month to germinate. Minimum 30°C. Maximum 42°C.  Before sowing put the seeds in hot boiling water and the seed starts to peel, dont worry and put them in pots they will start germinating in the following week, just ensure that they grow straight, they have the tendency to fall down. Should show some caudex in a couple of years, Delonix will be a stick for many.

All the information and photos in cactus art files are now available also in the new the Encyclopaedia of Succulents. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.