Tabebuia roseo-alba ¨Ipê-branco”

T. roseo-alba

In this post, I show you a beautiful and ornamental tree called Tabebuia roseo-alba (Ridl.) Sandwith.

It belongs to the Tabebuia genus. Tabebuia is the largest genus of the Bignoniaceae family and comprises over 100 species from tropical and subtropical areas. 

Trumpet trees (English common name) or Tabebuia roseo-alba,  is a species popularly known as ” ipê-branco”, “ipê-do-cerrado”, or “pau-d’arco”. In fact, “Ipê-branco” is also a Brazilian common name for other species of the genera Tecoma and Bignonia.

Botanical Characteristics

Tabebuia roseo-alba is a native wild species to Brazil recognized for its exuberant white-pinkish flowering, dense bluish-green foliage, and the pyramidal shape of the crown(1,2). The species’s name comes from the color of its flowers ( roseo mean rosa, rose or pink, and alba means white in latin names).

The “ipê-branco” can reach 5-10m tall and is a deciduous tree (the leaves fall off at maturity), which is evident when you see the lush white-pinkish flowers and a few green leaves.

Flowers of T. roseo-alba

Leaf is characterized by having a trifoliate leaf or leaflets as an adult, which differ from some other Tabebuia species, with 5 leaflets, similar to our hand.

Fruits are dehiscent bivalve capsules resembling a large pod. When they are mature, the along built-in line opens up to release the seeds.

Seeds are winged (adaptations that allow them to be carried by the wind), and a kilogram of the fruit may have approximately 71,000 seeds. That’s a lot of seeds!!

Seeds 

Plant Phenology

Flowering occurs during August to October (sometimes flowering repeats around September, but with less intensity), and fruiting begins in October, when the plant is completely stripped of its foliage and produces many seeds that are dispersed by the wind.

Species's Range

Origin: South America. It occurs in Brazil and extends across Northern to the southeastern states of Brazil(3) and parts of Paraguay, and it was introduced in Argentina for landscape purposes (4).

Ocorrence

It occurs in the primary forest and in secondary formations in the Caatinga (Brazilian xerophitic land), Pantanal wetland of Brazil and Paraguay, Atlantic forest, and  Brazilian Cerrado(1,2,3).

Habitat

This species is a deciduous, heliophilous, and selective xerophytic plant, characteristic of rocky and limestone outcrops of semi-deciduous forests (1). This characteristic facilitates its use in the restoration in dry and stony terrain. T. roseo-alba can tolerate rapid fire and is a roadside colonizer in the Pantanal wetland( picture on the right) (2)

Uses

Due to its stunning tree shape when in flower and exuberant pinkish-white flowering (1),  it is highly recommended for landscaping in parks, gardens, and squares. Because its wood is heavy and soft, it is used for making tool handles and for internal construction (2).

Medicinal Properties

There is both ethnobotanical and experimental evidence that supports the antimicrobial activity of T. roseo-alba bark for the treatment of infectious diseases (4,5) and of its leaves for the inflammation-reduction activity (6).

Have you seen this tree outside? Comment below! 🙂