Biology:Stereospermum colais

Short description: Species of tree

Yellow snake tree
Flowers of S. colais photographed near Panavally, India
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Bignoniaceae
Genus:	Stereospermum
Species:	S. colais
Binomial name
Stereospermum colais (Buch.-Ham. ex Dillwyn) Mabb.
Synonyms
Bignonia colais Buch.-Ham. ex Dillwyn Hassk. Wall. ex DC. Miq. ex C.B.Clarke Stereospermum personatum Stereospermum tetragonum (Hassk.) Chatterjee Bignonia caudata DC. Bennet & Raizada Stereospermum colais var. angustifolium Stereospermum hasskarlii V.Chandrasekaran Dipterosperma personatum DC. Zoll. & Moritzi (Dop) D.D.Tao Stereospermum caudatum Bignonia tetragona (DC.) Miq. Stereospermum colais var. puberulum Stereospermum colais var. angustifolium Bignonia caudata

Stereospermum colais, the yellow snake tree, is 15–20 m tall, trunk 15–25 cm in diam, large leaves 25–50 cm; leaflets 3–6 on each side of midrib, long elliptic, 8-14 X 2.5–6 cm. Large, pale yellow, trumpet shaped flowers occur in panicles. Flowers are pale yellow, slightly curved, about 2 cm, upper lip 2-lobed, lower lip 3-lobed, tomentose at mouth, tube terete. The fruit is long, 4-angular, slightly curved, 30–70 cm, about 1 cm in diameter. This, probably, is the source of its common name, snake tree.

It is found in India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka: where it is "common in moist deciduous forests and occasional in openings or margins of evergreen forests, up to 1200 m."

In Vietnam, Stereospermum colais is known as quao núi. Its young leaves can be eaten as a vegetable in Vietnam's Central Highlands.

References

Wikidata ☰ {{{from}}} entry