Tabebuia rosea – Rosy trumpet tree / Roble
Family:
Native to:
Habitat:
Bignoniaceae
Central America and northern South America.
Moist or dry forests, open fields, roadsides. 25 meter tall tree, up to 1700 meters above sea level.
Ecological value:
Showy flowers, attracts insects and birds (tanagers, hummingbirds, orioles). Fairly fast growing, common street tree. Shade tree for coffee and cocoa. Aggressive pioneer species. Drought tolerant, moderately salt tolerant.
Material uses:
Firewood. One of the most important timber species in Central America. Moderately light wood, hard, heavy and durable. Used in furniture, heavy construction, cabinetry, boat building. Wood potential per hectare: 10-20 metric tonnes.
Edible uses:
No part of tree is known to be edible. Used as a shade tree for cocoa and coffee.
Medicinal use:
Treats intestinal parasites, malaria, uterine cancer, reduces fevers and pain, tonsil inflammation etc. Contains lapachol which has antimalarial effects. Bark treat anemia and constipation.
Other details:
Ornamental tree. Flowers while leafless. Pink to purple blossoms, sometimes (but rarely), white. Starts flowering at 3 years old. Used to make cheap furniture in Central America. Can become invasive. Names include Roble de cabana (savannah oak, in Costa Rica), Maquillishaut (El Salvador).
Research:
Christine Facella/Priyal Metha
Sources:
“Tabebuia Rosea (Bertol.) DC. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science.” n.d. Plants of the World Online. Accessed November 19, 2023. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:111027-1/general-information.
“Tabebuia Rosea.” 2023. Wikipedia. May 15, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabebuia_rosea.
Barwick. M., ‘Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide’, Thames & Hudson, London, 2004
Image sources: José David Villalobos Robles and Ping an Chang.