Tecoma- the Yellow Trumpet Flower

Scientific Name: Tecoma stans or Stenolobium stans IUCN Status: Least Concern

It is also called as Yellow Trumpet Flower or Yellow Elder.

It is the official flower of US Virgin Islands and it is the floral emblem of Bahamas.

Its Generic name Tecoma is derived from Nahuatl or Aztec word- Tecomaxochitl which was applied by indigenous peoples of Mexico to plants with tubular flowers resembling a certain earthen ware vessel.

(Nahuatl and Aztecs are native people of Mexico and Central America)

It is native to Mexico, Central and South America (Latin America) , but it is now widely naturalized in tropical regions.

It is an erect branched shrub about 2 to 4 meters height. Hence the Species name Stans which means erect.

It bears its green foliage almost to the ground. Flowers are clear yellow and fragrant, appear in close dropping clusters from the end of the branchlets.

Each bloom is a 2inch trumpet which on emerging from the pale green calyx, suddenly bellies out and opens into five wavy lobes. Hence the plant’s name Tecoma or the Yellow Trumpet Flower. Inside the trumpet are delicately etched light orange lines.

Tecoma flowers throughout the year. Therefore widely used as ornamental.

Leaves are large with long stalk divided into between 8-11 leaflets. The terminal leaflet is the largest.

Its bark is corky and light brown.

Propagation is by seeds and cuttings. As flowers fall before they wither the shrub has capacity of seeding itself the ground below.

It is a ruderal species which readily colonizes disturbed, sandy, cleared land and occasionally becomes an invasive weed.

It is a desirable fodder to livestock

Some species of Tecoma, T. undulata and T.capensis have bright orange flowers.

Tecoma is widely used for its medical properties in its homeland i.e. Latin America.

Its alkaloid Tecomine has hypoglycemic action, therefore traditionally used for reducing blood sugars.

Its roots are reported to be diuretic, anti-syphilitic and vermifuge.

Decoctions of flowers and bark of Tecoma are used for stomach pains.

In Guadalajara, a city of Mexico, roots are used for making beer.

Its wood is hard and durable, used to make tools, used as firewood and for making charcoal.