Flowering Pink Poui

Check out the video and story of this flowering tree in Binutlu here ...>>>http://myussop.blogspot.com/2009/09/bintulu-in-poui-ring-petals-video.html

Trumpet tree ( Tabebuia rosea/alba) seeds in Bintulu

In my earlier postings, I mentioned of the trumpet trees ( Tabebuia) flowering in Bintulu. Often times this tree is called the pink tecoma or Poui tree. Well, today I came across the first signs of the tree bearing fruits. The fruits resemble bean-like long capsules.

At one tree I noticed this fully ripened seed pod split open with some spaces empty due to the seeds being blown away or just dropped off.

I placed the seed pod on my car's bonet to have a cu view. The seeds are wrapped in an extra light , white thin feathery filament to make them easily airborne.

Flowers keep falling on my head

It's springtime for these tabebuiea trees or sometimes known as trumpet trees on account of their trumpet-like flowers. In the above picture the flowers are pink and therefore called Tabebuiea rosea.  Below it's the white flower variety and referred to as Tabebuiea alba.

Location: Open space at Medan Jaya, Bintulu.

Tabebuia rosea

On the way to Tanjong Batu beach this morning, I spotted this row of flowering Tabebuia rosea trees. This year the flowering doesn't seem to be heavy like the previous year when it started earlier in May. Sometimes called the trumpet tree, the pink flowers are spectacular and are clustered at the end tips of the branches. The flowers will fall after about a week or so and by which time will totally cover the ground . A closer examination of the flowers will reveal its trumpet- like shape. Two varieties are grown in Bintulu, the white one called Tabebuia alba and the pinkish variety called Tabebuia rosea. They came in a yellow envelope about twenty years ago from Singapore. Those seeds from the envelope were germinated at the BDA's Sungai Plan nursery. From this nursery, the young trees were sent to Miri, Sibu and other smaller towns in Sarawak.