''Markhamia lutea'', the Nile tulip, Nile trumpet or siala tree is a tree species of the family

Bignoniaceae Bignoniaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales commonly known as the bignonias or trumpetvines.Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. ''Flowering Plant Families of the World''. Firefly Book ...

, native to eastern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and cultivated for its large bright yellow flowers. It is related to the

African tulip tree ''Spathodea'' is a genus in the plant family Bignoniaceae. The single species it contains, ''Spathodea campanulata'', is commonly known as the African tulip tree. The tree grows between tall and is native to tropical dry forests of Africa. It ha ...

. Native to Africa, Markhamia was named in the honour of

Clements Markham Sir Clements Robert Markham (20 July 1830 – 30 January 1916) was an English geographer, explorer and writer. He was secretary of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) between 1863 and 1888, and later served as the Society's president for ...

(1830-1916), who worked in India. An

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

small tree that grows to 4–5 m in height outside of native zones, although it can reach more than 10 m in its zones of origin. Leaves, of 20–30 cm in length, normally arranged in groups in the ends of the branches. Flowers in terminal clusters. They are trumpet shaped, yellow in colour, with orange-reddish spots in the throat. They measure 5–6 cm in length. Fruit is a capsule, of up to 70 cm in length, with abundant winged seeds. It is propagated by seeds.

Notes

References

External links

World Agroforestry Centre Species Information
* Flora of Africa Flora of Uganda lutea {{Bignoniaceae-stub