Colvillea racemosa

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Photographs by: Dr. Maulik Gadani

Botanical Name : Colvillea racemosa Bojer
The genus is named after Sir Charles Colville, Governor of Mauritius. It includes only one species. Racemosa refers to the arrangement of the flowers in raceme or cluster like bunches of grapes.
Common Name : Colville's Glory, Colvillia, Whip Tree
Plant Family : Leguminosae (Fabaceae)
Plant Form : Tree
Occurrence (Sectors) : 28

Habit : A large deciduous tree with long spreading branches.
Stem :
- Bark brownish grey with copper tone, studded with numerous corky knobs, often peels off in thin irregular flakes.
- Trunk tall and stout.
Leaves : About a meter long, compound, bipinnate; pinnae 20-30 pairs, 8-10 cm, each on the rachis and 20-28 pairs of small leaflets, about 1 cm long opposite to each other on the pinnae.
Inflorescence : Racemes
Flowers : Flowers in large pendant racemes at the end of the upper branches; sepals coloured, more or less obliquely shaped and sharply pointed softly silky; petals orange, 5 in number, short and stiff, 2 lateral petals larger. Stamens 10, yellow, prominent, project long way beyond the petals forming the most conspicuous part of the flower.
Fruit : A pod, two-valved and round in section.
Flowering and fruiting Time : September-October
Significance : It is a good tree for large avenues and for parks.