Yellow Flame (HT 2005 142)

Reference ID
HT 2005-142

Scientific name: Peltophorum pterocarpum
Family name: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
Girth: 5.91 m @ 1.8 m height
Height: 23.9 m

Location
Carpark of former Pavilion Wards,
in front of Ward 510

The Yellow Flame is native to India and Sri Lanka, through Southeast Asia, including Singapore, to Northern Australia. It grows naturally on rocky, sandy shores and back mangroves.

It is a deciduous tree that can grow up to 35 m in height. It has a wide-spreading, umbrella-shaped crown and slightly rough light grey bark. Its leaves are bi-pinnate with many tiny leaflets. It produces bright yellow blooms which are about 3 cm in size and occur in bunches. Its fruit is a pod that is 5 to 10 cm long and ripens to a purplish brown colour.

While it is considered Critically Endangered in the wild in Singapore, it is widely planted along roadsides for its wide, shade-providing crown, and bright yellow blooms, which occasionally cover the entire tree.

In Java, the bark yields a yellow-brown dye that is used in batik. The bark is also reportedly used to treat dysentery and relieve sprains and muscle aches.

This Heritage Tree measured 5.6 m in girth when endorsed as a Heritage Tree in 2005.

For more information on this species, please refer to NParks' Flora & Fauna Web profile here.

Gallery

📷: Brendon Phuah