Parmentiera cereifera

• Botanical Name : Parmentiera cereifera Seem.
• Common Name : Candle Tree
• Plant Family : Bignoniaceae
• Plant Form : Tree
• Occurrence (Special Areas) : Indroda Park

About Parmentiera cereifera Plant :

• Habit : A small tree.
• Leaves : Trifoliate with the main petiole slightly winged, leaflets elliptic, acute.
• Inflorescence : Solitary
• Flowers :
  • Flowers on old wood (cauliflorous), dull white-pink in colour.
  • Calyx bell-shaped, spathaceous and splits on one side.
  • Corolla large, campanulate, broad tubular below, with 5, spreading waving lobes.
  • Stamens 4, didynamous, included, anthers, divergent.
  • Ovary sessile, 2-celled, ovules many, style long, stigma bilobed.
• Fruit : Capsules long, cylindric, indehiscent, white and pendulous and remains hanging on the tree for a long time.
• Flowering and Fruiting Time : April - June
• Significance : Generally grown as an ornamental plant due to its flowers and unusual appearance.