Saraca Species, Yellow Saraca

Per Irene Ngoo at Min's Garden @tropicaljungle in Singapore about her photos above:
"This is a dense cluster of blooms on a row of...Read More flowering Saraca thaipingensis (Yellow Saraca) trees along a walking and cycling track near my neighborhood. Was attracted to these mildly fragrant clusters which open on the trunk, stems and branches. Each flower is small, about 2cm in diameter, initially pale yellow, turning deep yellow with a crimson eye-spot. Yellow Saraca is native to the Southeast Asia region, but it is also widely cultivated in a number of tropical and sub-tropical countries for its attractive yellow inflorescence and drooping pink/purple young leaves. In Singapore, the Yellow Saraca can be found in many parks and gardens as ornamental trees. Besides its obvious ornamental purpose, Yellow Saraca has potential medicinal uses as extracts of its flowers, leaves and twigs have been found to have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties in recent studies. Yellow Saraca is a medium-sized, evergreen tree which can grow up to about 8m in height, and has a wide spreading crown."

This is a very beautiful tree. I like it for both the flowers and the foliage, the new leaves are a pink color; the Saraca are one the "...Read Morehandkerchief' trees- new leaves are soft, limp, and, in the case of Saraca, shades of pink & red. Stiffen up and turn green over the next week or so.

Flower heads are large, up to 45cm, and bright yellow, turning red as they age. Fragrant particularly at night. Grows pretty fast if kept warm/hot. Don't let it dry out for any length of time.

There is some confusion in the literature about Saraca names. Some consider this & S cauliflora as synonyms, other state that S cauliflora & S. delinata are synonyms.