Selected Trees and Shrubs
Brownea coccinea, Common name: Brownea, Scarlet Flame Bean
Plant Family: Belongs to the Caesalpiniaceae family, which includes Barbados Pride (Caesalpinia pulcherrima), Flamboyant (Delonix regia) and the Orchid Tree (Bauhinia variegata)
Description: Near Garden’s South or Roseau gate; reported in that location in the 1924 Official Guide; beautiful, slow-growing, short, spreading trees, 6-9 m tall (20-30 ft); leaves pinnately compound, leaflets up to 15 cm long (6 in) and up to 6 cm wide (2.3 in), up to 6 pairs, with sometimes one terminal leaflet, pink-brown and pendulous when young; flowers borne in large, bright, orange-red clusters, hanging mostly beneath foliage primarily on older branches, which distinguishes it from other Browneas; fruit a woody pod about 15 cm long (6 in) and 5 cm broad (2 in)
Natural Habitat: Moderate rainfall regions of tropics and sub-tropics; propagation by seed
Origin and Distribution: Native to tropical America, and now distributed variously in tropics and sub-tropics
Uses: A hardy, slow-growing, specimen ornamental; bark reportedly used in Guyana for treating women’s diseases such menorrahgia and menstrual pains
References:
Anon. Official Guide to the Botanic Gardens, Dominica. Kew Gardens, London, 1924?
H.F. Macmillan. Tropical Planting and Gardening. Macmillan, London 1956
Gerald Carr. Flowering Plant Families. Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2004 (botany.hawaii.edu)
Medicinal Plants of the Guianas (Guyana, Surinam and French Guiana). Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. n.d. (mnh.si.edu)
Description: Near Garden’s South or Roseau gate; reported in that location in the 1924 Official Guide; beautiful, slow-growing, short, spreading trees, 6-9 m tall (20-30 ft); leaves pinnately compound, leaflets up to 15 cm long (6 in) and up to 6 cm wide (2.3 in), up to 6 pairs, with sometimes one terminal leaflet, pink-brown and pendulous when young; flowers borne in large, bright, orange-red clusters, hanging mostly beneath foliage primarily on older branches, which distinguishes it from other Browneas; fruit a woody pod about 15 cm long (6 in) and 5 cm broad (2 in)
Natural Habitat: Moderate rainfall regions of tropics and sub-tropics; propagation by seed
Origin and Distribution: Native to tropical America, and now distributed variously in tropics and sub-tropics
Uses: A hardy, slow-growing, specimen ornamental; bark reportedly used in Guyana for treating women’s diseases such menorrahgia and menstrual pains
References:
Anon. Official Guide to the Botanic Gardens, Dominica. Kew Gardens, London, 1924?
H.F. Macmillan. Tropical Planting and Gardening. Macmillan, London 1956
Gerald Carr. Flowering Plant Families. Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2004 (botany.hawaii.edu)
Medicinal Plants of the Guianas (Guyana, Surinam and French Guiana). Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. n.d. (mnh.si.edu)
