''Handroanthus chrysanthus'' (araguaney or yellow ipê), formerly classified as ''Tabebuia chrysantha'', also known as ''araguaney'' in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, as ''guayacán'' in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, as ''tajibo'' in

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, and as ''ipê-amarelo'' in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, is a native tree of the intertropical broadleaf deciduous forests of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

above the

Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reac ...

. On May 29, 1948, ''Handroanthus chrysanthus'' was declared the National Tree of

due to its status as an emblematic native species of extraordinary beauty. Its deep yellow resembles that of the

Venezuelan flag The current eight stars flag of Venezuela was introduced in 2006. The basic design includes a horizontal tricolour flag, tricolour of yellow, blue, and red, dating to the original flag introduced in 1811, in the Venezuelan War of Independence. F ...

Designation

''Chrysantha'' is derived from two Greek words, χρῡσ-ός gold + ἄνθεµον flower. Araguaney appears to derive from "aravenei", the ancient word by which the

Kalina people The Kalina, also known as the Caribs or mainland Caribs and by several other names, are an indigenous people native to the northern coastal areas of South America. Today, the Kalina live largely in villages on the rivers and coasts of Venezuela, ...

(Caribs) designated this tree.

Habitat

The araguaney is found in clearings of deciduous tropical forests of the broad

Guiana Shield The Guiana Shield (french: Plateau des Guyanes, Bouclier guyanais; nl, Hoogland van Guyana, Guianaschild; pt, Planalto das Guianas, Escudo das Guianas; es, Escudo guayanés) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a ...

region. It is also native to warm lands and sabanas (Vía Oriente to El Guapo, Cupira, and Uchire Sabana) and even some arid hills ( Mampote, Guarenas, Guatire y

Caucagua Caucagua is a Venezuelan city in the state of Miranda, and is capital of the Acevedo Municipality. The town of later Caucagua was founded as ''Valle de Araguata'' about 1690. It was refounded with the name of Caucagua in 1752. Bishop Mariano Mart ...

). Its habitat ranges 400 to 1700m above sea level.

Description

It is a rustic

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree that defies hard, dry or poor soils. Therefore, its roots require well drained terrain. Its height ranges 6 to 12m. Leaves are opposite and petiolate, elliptic and lanceolate, with pinnate venation. Flowers are large, tubular shaped, with broadening corolla of deep yellow colour, about 2 inches long; they come out (February to April) before the tree has grown back any leaves. The fruit consists of dehiscent capsule often matured by the end of dry season. It is a slow growing, but long lasting, tree.Hoyos F., Jesús (1983) "Guía de árboles de Venezuela", Caracas. Sociedad de Ciencias Naturales La Salle. Monografía Nº 32. As said, flowering and fruiting take place in dry season, from February to April, this way the seeds can take advantage of early rains. If raining season is delayed, the araguaney may flower and fruit, mildly, a second time. It is a highly efficient moisture manager. As happens with

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

, the araguaney biological functions requiring most water take place precisely during dry season.

References

* Hoyos F., Jesús (1983) "Guía de árboles de Venezuela", Caracas. Sociedad de Ciencias Naturales La Salle. Monografía Nº 32.
Venezuela
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15549607 chrysantha National symbols of Venezuela Trees of Brazil Trees of Bolivia Trees of Peru Trees of Colombia Trees of Venezuela